But They Refused
by Equitia
Summary: Genocide Route spoilers. When the Human cuts down Undyne in one blow, she begins to turn to to dust. Once again she refuses to die, but this time something holds her back. She eventually wakes up as Undyne the Undying on a bed of yellow flowers in an unfamiliar cave...
1. Chapter 1

Content warning for graphic violence, language (thanks Undyne), character death, and mentions of suicidal thoughts.

* * *

Toriel watched from the doorway as Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus played poker together on a table that was actually a cardboard box. They all threw down their cards, and Sans grinned and drew a pile of chips into his arms.

"THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME, SANS." Papyrus pointed at his brother. "THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN BEAT BOTH FRISK AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS FIVE TIMES IN A ROW. YOU ARE CHEATING, THERE IS SIMPLY NO OTHER OPTION."

"beatin any of one of you isn't really a feat," Sans said. "considering frisk is ten and you emote so much the lesser dog could win against you."

"THAT IS NOT TRUE. FRISK, TELL SANS THAT HE MUST BE CHEATING."

Frisk looked at Sans, smiled, and said, "You're right. Papyrus is bad."

"HUMAN! YOU HAVE HEREBY LOST YOUR COOKING WITH PAPYRUS PRIVILEGES."

Toriel approached them. "Frisk, it is getting late. Perhaps it is time to turn into bed."

Frisk looked at the clock and saw that it was really late, but still they said with an exaggerated pout, "Aw, one more game, Toriel?"

"nah, you should listen to toriel, kid," Sans interjected, getting up. "besides, losing so much isn't good for your self-esteem."

Papyrus rose to his feet also and marched to his brother. "YOU'RE JUST TOO GOOD, SANS. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE."

"i know that, bro," Sans replied. "but i have no need to cheat."

"So, Sans." Frisk tried to hide their smile. "Should Papyrus realize that he's wrong and just know when to fold them?"

Sans chuckled and patted Frisk on the head. "you'll get there someday, kiddo."

"Thank you, Sans and Papyrus, for helping Frisk and I settle in," Toriel said.

"no prob. see ya, frisk."

When the brothers finally opened the door to leave, chilly fresh air Frisk still hadn't gotten used to after being underground blew in.

"FAREWELL TILL TOMORROW, FRISK AND TORIEL," Papyrus said as he shut the door.

Toriel put a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "You worked hard too, Frisk. It will still be a while before we can say that we are completely moved in, but, thanks to you and the brothers, we have made more progress than I would have thought possible."

"Thanks, Toriel," Frisk said. They wrapped their arms around her and buried their face into her robe. "I'm really glad that we're living together up here."

Toriel hugged Frisk back. "Me too, dear."

* * *

In bed, Frisk tossed and turned. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't shut down their mind. They sat up in bed and looked around, only the dim light of the stars and moon allowing them to make anything out in the room. Frisk's new room was mostly empty except for their bed and a dresser Sans and Papyrus hauled in earlier today. Boxes littered all the other rooms, but Frisk had only needed one small one to hold all of their possessions from both under and above ground.

Something seemed to gnaw on Frisk's stomach. They lied back down and drew their blanket up to their chin. _I'm just unused to being in a new room,_ Frisk told themself before realizing how stupid that sounded after everything they had been through. _Or maybe I'm sick._ Curling onto their side, they squeezed their eyes shut and demanded that they go to sleep.

Frisk heard the door open and the footsteps grow closer but didn't move. Toriel sat on the side of their bed and placed a hand on their shoulder. Frisk's body relaxed as Toriel gently rubbed their back and sang softly to them as if she knew they were awake. After a few minutes Toriel stood up and left the room, but she returned again soon, this time leaving the scent of butterscotch-cinnamon pie behind as she closed the door one last time.

Frisk shifted in bed and finally began to drift off…

And their soul grew cold.

They jerked fully awake. ( _No!_ )

Frisk's lips stretched into a grin. Though Frisk struggled, their body sat up of its own accord and their hands tossed away their blankets.

( _No, no, no, no, no!_ )

Frisk's head cocked to the side. (Did you think that I had left you?) Chara asked curiously in Frisk's head.

( _Please, please give me back my body, Chara.)_

Chara shook Frisk's head. (You made your choice long ago.)

( _Please, please, please! Don't make me. I'll do anything just don't make me,)_ Frisk pleaded. They wanted to scream, they wanted to collapse into tears until Toriel heard and came to help them, but their body still held that wide, cheerful grin.

(You'll change your mind once we get started,) Chara said. (Just like before.)

( _Please…_ )

Chara shrugged. (You're the one who decided to do this.)

( _I'm sorry. I'm sorry,_ ) Frisk sobbed, but only in their head.

* * *

That was many resets ago.

Things got boring after everyone was dead, after all.

* * *

"Undyne… you're… you're hurt…"

Undyne heard the words but couldn't move. A lightning strike of pain ripped open her chest and froze solid her blood. The sound of glass breaking crackled in her ears. Numbness crawled up her fingers and toes. She was…

Out of the corner of her vision she saw Kid. The young monster had taken several steps back in horror, tears forming in the corners of their eyes. Undyne leaned on her spear and made herself smile. "Hurt? This is nothing. Next time –" A bolt of pain wracked her body. "- listen when I tell you to leave, okay?"

"Undyne… I…" A tear fell from Kid's chin to the damp stone floor.

Agony wrenched Undyne's body and she bit back a scream. "I'll take care of this! Get out of here!" she growled through gritted teeth. Her body shuddered involuntarily. The glass cracked again in her ears. "Go!"

Tears streaming, Kid backed away and finally turned and ran. The Human watched, holding a plastic knife in their tiny hand. This puny human sliced through her armor and scales and watched Kid run with a blank expression on their face. Somehow with one hit, she was already…already…

"D-Damn it!" she hissed. The sound of shattering glass intensified and cracks snaked and spider-webbed over her body. Something broke and she fell to her hands and knees. Several of her fingers snapped off when they hit the ground, but she couldn't feel her arms or legs. She could only watch as the fingers dissolved into dust next to a fragment of her ear while she listened to the sounds of her body falling apart.

"Papyrus... Alphys… Asgore…" she croaked. Black specks floated in front of her eye. "Just like that I've failed you… no…"

A small brown hand took the spear that had fallen along with Undyne. The Human picked it up and twirled it experimentally.

"I've failed you..."

Undyne collapsed to the ground, and her face splintered into a thousand fragments. Though her vision was gone and her body was an unfeeling pile of dust and shards on the floor, she wasn't dead. She only floated in a void as her thoughts began to disintegrate as well.

 _I failed. Alphys, I'm so sorry. I thought I could – no. I'm dead. Alphys, Papyrus, I…_

The Human will kill them all. They won't content themself with just slaughtering Monsters. They kill humans too. They'll kill everyone… Alphys.

 _No._

Undyne's body wasn't gone yet. She tried to move. She shrieked at herself to get up and fight. She thrashed and screamed against the numbness and the blanket of nothing that had begun to smother her.

 _I. Will not. Die here._

She felt her body lying uselessly on the ground in a pile of dust. She writhed, urging herself to reform.

 _You. Can't. Kill. Me._

A whispering shivered in her ear. She fought against that too _. Do you hear me, Human? You. Can't. Kill. Me._ The dust blew together and began build itself up.

The whispering became an unintelligible roar, drowning Undyne out. Undyne struggled and twisted and screamed against it. _I cannot die! I will not die! Give up already!_

It pulled her back gently, easing her into blackness. Still screaming, Undyne pulled herself away, but it only gripped her more tightly. It held her until she grew exhausted, until she could only weakly gasp, _No, I won't let them kill everyone._ It whispered reassuringly and carried her into unconsciousness.

* * *

Frisk frowned as the spear fell apart in their hands. Its icy blue dust glittered on the gray rest of Undyne. Frisk waited, but nothing happened. The wind tossed the dust across the cavern. No Undyne the Undying. Eventually, the human child walked away. So Undyne didn't reform. Frisk had come across several small alterations during their runs, albeit not this particular one. Maybe something new would happen.

Probably not, but maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

The Human approached Kid with a knife in their hand. Time stopped for a second and Undyne was running, running, willing to take the blow if she had to.

She did have to; there was no other option. But the knife cut through her armor like butter and slashed her chest. Her body was falling apart. She was…

Undyne gasped and her eye flew open. She froze, thinking that the Human was still around and would immediately kill her if she didn't play dead. But no, something wasn't right. She lay on her side, a hand resting in front of her face, but the hand was whole. She vividly remembered her fingers lying cracked on the ground.

She sat up, her bones cracking and her armor creaking. Underneath her was a bed of yellow flowers. Her first confused thought was that she somehow ended up in the garbage dump, but obviously not. She wasn't even sure she was in Waterfall anymore – the air was dry and chilly, completely different from the humidity of the caverns she was used to. She looked up. Light shone down from high, high up.

It didn't matter where she was; all that mattered was that she find the Human. She stood and began walking. As she did so she mentally checked her body – she was alive and whole, somehow. She removed a gauntlet and felt her face to see if she could detect any cracks in her scales. At first she thought she had only lost her eyepatch until she examined her ears. Her fingers felt bumps on the side of one, but her ear didn't feel damaged. In fact, the bumps aligned perfectly with her ear's ridges, and she passed her hand over her other ear and felt the same. She died, came back to life somehow, and now her ears had a different design?

Then she noticed the gauntlet she held in her hand. She had spent enough time polishing her armor to know every groove and embellishment, but each of her gauntlets had somehow grown two spikes and a black heartlike design. She stopped walking and felt her armor. Besides a new white design on her torso like an upside down heart, her armor had become spikier, more badass. She shrugged, shoved her gauntlet back on, and summoned a spear.

After making her way down a corridor, she stepped into a room composed of purple stone. This was nowhere she recognized, and the Underground was a pretty small place. After climbing some stairs, she reached a room with several gray buttons on the floor. She solved the puzzle easily enough. She had listened to Papyrus wax on about puzzle solving strategies enough that she doubted any puzzle could trip her up.

Papyrus.

"Damn it, Human," Undyne growled. "I swear to the Angel that I will find you. I'm coming back from the freaking dead to end you."

In the next room two narrow channels of water flowed each under a short bridge. She knelt at the edge of the first, set her spear down and her gauntlets next to it, and splashed water on her face. She peered down, but the clear water showed only the vaguest reflection.

She continued on. The clanks of her footsteps echoed off the walls, the only sound. It didn't take her long to realize what the silence and the more and more frequent piles of dust meant.

As she walked through the room with the black, leafless tree, a sense of déjà vu pervaded her. It wasn't until she opened the door did she realize why. She froze for a few moments, and then took a few hesitant steps into the home. This was just like Asgore's, except with color.

Walking down the familiar yet different hallway was utterly surreal. The door that should lead to Asgore's room was locked and marked with an "under reconstruction sign," but she busted it open with little difficulty. A dusty version of Asgore's bedroom greeted her. She stepped in and began opening drawers, but they were all empty. She left and tried the room that was normally locked in Asgore's house next. This bedroom looked much more lived in – the queen-sized bed made with fresh seats, books stacked on a table, and a diary opened on the desk. Neat, dignified handwriting covered the pages with jokes that reminded Undyne of Sans. He must be dead too.

She rifled through the drawers; anyone who lived here was probably dead anyway. At the bottom of one she found a photograph of Asgore and a female Boss Monster with her hands on the shoulders of who must be their child. The young monster must be Asriel, which meant this must be the home of Asgore's ex.

Leaving the photograph on the desk next to the diary, Undyne turned to head for the basement before remembering the mirror at the end of the hall.

Her armor had indeed become much more badass. She had become more badass in general - spikes outlined her ear and her hair stuck stiffly out of her ponytail. Her remaining eye's color had reversed, a white pupil with a black sclera, and without her eyepatch her empty eye socket looked menacingly at nothing.

She prodded her face. No cracks or breaks anywhere. She pressed a finger into her cheek, but nothing. She pressed more and her felt her scales give.

She yelped and let out a stream of curse words. Her finger had left an indentation like her face was clay. As she watched, her scales slowly rose and returned to their former shape. In a minute, they had returned to normal.

"What the actual hell?"

There was no one around to answer her, so she walked away from her reflection. Before heading to the basement, she checked out the other rooms. The living room with the burned out fireplace and the kitchen with a partially eaten pie were just like Asgore's. She walked down the purple instead of white basement corridor. A pile of dust had been scattered in front of a door. Undyne paused.

"I promise I'll kill the Human who did this. I've come back for a reason."

A long, narrow passageway led to yet another doorway, and she recognized the frigid air the moment she stepped outside.

"I've come back to kill you, Human. I hope you're ready to try again."

* * *

She met no other monsters. Every once in a while she came across evidence of a battle or a pile of dust that the wind hadn't scattered. The Human planned to kill Asgore in order to break the barrier, Undyne knew. She needed to kill them for what they did and what they planned to do, but she feared she would be unable to do anything by the time she reached them.

Her body was falling apart again, except instead of becoming brittle it was losing its form. She could create pits in her scales easily now, here as she passed the spot where she had fought the Human. Her armor was suffering as well. Having imbued it with magic long ago, it was tied directly to her SOUL, hence why it turned dust along with her body. It seemed to be suffering worse than Undyne herself, and its rapidly worsening consistency hindered her movement and made it useless for defense. She discarded pieces of it as she walked. But that didn't matter. If she had to, she would fight the Human armorless. She would fight them naked. She would fight them if her body had turned to an amorphous scaly blob, if she had no arms to use her spears, and if she could only move by wriggling like a slug.

Finally, she reached Hotland. With each step her feet squelched as if there was mud in her boots, though she knew that wasn't the problem. She still held a spear, but it looked like someone had shoved its shaft through a clay ball stuck to the end of her arm. She actually did that on purpose; it was quite a grip that would make it very difficult for anyone to disarm her. If she wanted to throw one she could use her other hand. She had become ambidextrous for a reason. No prob.

Okay, her body was deteriorating too quickly to be any good. She had to find some way to improve her condition if she wanted to do anything more than creep out the Human when she reach them, if the little murderer had the capacity to be creeped out after all the atrocities they had committed. There was only one person who could possibly help Undyne, and she should have led all the other survivors to a secret area in her lab.

 _Please let Alphys have gotten everyone to safety. Please let Alphys still be alive._

 _If the Human killed Alphys, nothing will be able to stop me. No matter what my body is like, I **will**._

Undyne entered the lab. Papers, trash, and rubble littered the dark halls. Though Alphys had told her there was a secret area in the royal lab, she hadn't told Undyne exactly what or where it was. Undyne wandered through the halls. She briefly stayed silent, but then decided if the Human was lurking here for some reason it was all the better if they heard and came to her. Undyne called Alphys's name. Her words were slurry because of her melting body, but on the bright side her teeth remained sharp.

An indistinct sound reached her ears. At first she ignored it along with the other humming of the various machinery in the lab, but she eventually recognized it as low buzzing conversation.

"Tell me who's there!" Undyne shouted as she followed the speaking. It led her to a dark room full of scientific contraptions that masked the sound further. She tried the light switch, but the florescent lights only flickered for a few seconds before blowing out.

She could begin to pick out individual words as she progressed, though she couldn't tell what exactly was being said.

"I'm getting closer," Undyne called out softly.

A door hung an inch ajar. She pushed it open with a creak and, for a second, thought she saw three staticy television screens against the wall until they started to move. The glitchy forms approached her, emitting what sounded alternately like electronic buzzing and scraps of English.

"So what the hell are you?" Undyne asked, pointing a newly manifested spear at the things, "And have you have seen a yellow lizard monster. Her name is Alphys, and she generally wears a white lab coat. Should be around here somewhere."

"It'S a real gEt togETHEr!" the glitching forms said.

"Uh huh, so have you seen her?"

"lOReM IpsUm DOCEt." Bulbous spheres appeared in the air, brightening from gray to white at different rates. Undyne held out her spear before remembering she had to save her strength for the Human. For the first time in her life, she fled. She dodged around the spheres, her softening body allowing her to bend and twist in ways she wouldn't have been able to normally. The brighter balls had puffed out into what looked like demented smiley faces when Undyne pulled the door shut behind her.

She sprinted to the room's exit, listening for the creak of the things following her, or more likely the busting down of the door of the things following her, considering they were armless blobs composed of glitchy static. Sure enough, thumping punctuated the things' buzzing what she now recognized as, "Come join the fun."

"Anyone else here?" Undyne shouted. "Undyne is right here, everybody!" For a few seconds, no one answered.

Then Undyne just managed to jump out of the way as a large white form tried to tackle her. She landed on her hands and knees, the impact with the floor pressing her scales smooth. She got to her feet and the thing was rushing toward her again. She instinctively held out her spear and impaled the creature that had bounded towards her. But instead of dissolving the creature straightened, the spear pushed through what was possibly its neck, several inches below a gaping hole that might have been some kind of face.

Undyne tried to will away her spear but nothing happened. "Damn," she growled.

The hole in the thing's head quivered as it let out both loud barks and magic in the form of arrows. Undyne dived to the floor, her hand unable to let go of the spear. The dive took Undyne closer to the thing and the thing looked down at her. Sizzling glowing green fluid dripped onto Undyne's torso before the thing bounded away. It dragged Undyne along with it, and would have broken her arm if her arm wasn't turning to Play-doh. Still hurt like a bitch though.

"Ngahhh!" Undyne summoned a spear in her free hand and impaled the thing just above the closest of its six leg. The thing looked at the spear in curiosity more than anything else. During that time Undyne concentrated and summoned three bursts of magic in succession. She scrambled to her feet and tried to ease the shaft of her spear out of her hand.

The thing jumped, clinging to the walls somehow and climbing to the ceiling. The spear ripped free – both of the thing's chest and Undyne's hand. The jagged hole in the creature's chest reformed instantly, but Undyne's fingers had been torn in two. The bottom of her fingers had been jaggedly severed in half, but the tips now clung to the heel of her hand.

Gritting her teeth to avoid screaming, Undyne blindly tried to barrage the thing with magic, but the pain clouded her concentration and the blasts were wide and weak. Her eye caught the spear lying on the ground and she snatched it up. The thing was hissing at her on a corner of the ceiling, and suddenly dropped down. Undyne threw. The spear blasted through one of the thing's ears and continued on.

Undyne dodged to the side as the thing let out another rounds of barks. When she regained her footing, the thing was in the opposite end of the room, facing away from her. The pain was fading in her injured hand, and she summoned another spear, holding it at the ready.

The thing turned its hulking body to face Undyne. It had gotten the spear into its orifice and the hole in its face was rapidly receding in order to grip the weapon. It bounded towards Undyne again, now looking as though someone had shish-kebabed its head. It opened its orifice and dropped the now green liquid covered spear at Undyne's feet, panting and vibrating.

Undyne threw her spear – at the wall, not at the creature. The creature chased after it again. The thing nearly crashed into her in order to return it, but Undyne was prepared to jump away. She gingerly picked up her spear and threw it again, allowing the other radioactive slobber covered spear to disappear.

"You're some kinda puppy, aren't ya, big guy?" The thing barked magic in response, but luckily its orifice was closed around the spear and not much got out. "Well, come on here."

After it brought back the spear, Undyne gingerly pet it with her good hand. She almost smiled as it calmed down, it reminded her so much of the Snowdin segment of her royal guard. Fortunately, it did not try to lick her in gratitude.

"Alright, doggy, have you seen a yellow monster in a lab coat around here?" Undyne asked. "Her name is Dr. Alphys."

The dog-thing woofed excitedly at Alphys's name. "You know where she is? Good dog. Can you bring me to her?"

The thing lumbered ecstatically around the room until Undyne caught it and calmed it down again. She leaned on it as it dragged her through the lab. It stopped at a door in the main hallway where Undyne hadn't looked, deciding that a secret lab wouldn't be in plain sight. Undyne pulled the door open and the thing half-carried her inside. Her vision was getting foggy, and she barely noticed her surroundings.

"Endogeny!" a feminine voice called. Undyne looked up.

"Oh my god, Endogeny, wh-who is that?" Alphys froze just as Undyne looked at her. Alphys's hand went to her mouth.

Undyne grinned. "Hey there, beautiful," she said, her mind floating in a beautiful foggy painless place.

"U-Udyne, I-I thought…"

"I'm freaking unkillable," Undyne said. She tried to take a step to Alphys, but she fell flat on her face. She continued to grinned as Alphys tried to haul her up.

"What happened to you, Undyne?"

"Magic," Undyne responded. "Also, god I'm tired."

"H-Hold on, Undyne!"

"Mmm-hmm," Undyne mumbled and pressed her face against Alphys's shoulder. "Yeah, you will."

* * *

Undyne did not entirely lose consciousness, but after collapsing on Alphys things became a blur. When she returned to full consciousness, she was lying on a cot with a needle in her arm and Alphys holding her hand. Undyne blinked and turned her head to face up. Yellow light from under a dusty bulb shone and flickered occasionally. Undyne stared, trying to clear her head.

"Alphys." Undyne turned her head to face the monster holding her hand. "Did I get you enough time to evacuate everyone?"

Alphys flinched in surprise. "Undyne! I-I, uh, how are you? Are you feeling okay?"

"I don't hurt anywhere, and my body stopped melting, thanks to whatever you're giving me," Undyne answered, pointing at the IV. "But what's happened since I fought the human?"

Alphys shifted on her feet and bowed her head. "I m-managed to e-evacuate H-Hotland, and Grillby warned everyone in Snowdin, b-but… there was no time… I c-c-couldn't save anyone else. I f-f-failed."

Alphys's shoulders began to shake. Undyne pushed herself to a sitting position and wrapped her good arm around Alphys and pulled her close. "The Human is a murderer. They even managed to – they - Alphys, this isn't your fault!"

Alphys continued, "R-right after the Human fought you, they caught up with Grillby and the others. Everyone ran, but the Human killed s-so many. S-Some managed to flee here and passed through the l-lab, but I-I couldn't let everyone in. It-it was too much of a r-risk that the Human w-would discover where we all were h-hiding. I-I was at the d-door for some. I h-heard the Human k-k-kill -"

Alphys sobbed. Undyne held her while Alphys cried, thinking thoughts at the Human that were barely comprehensible due to her rage and disgust. _The murderer - how could someone do - that fucking murderer – how far have they gone, how many – no matter what, I need -_

Alphys straightened and wiped tears away. "I don't kn-know exactly what happened to you, but I-I think. Um, there's s-something called determination. Normally only h-h-humans can produce it, but somehow y-you did. That, uh, would explain h-how y-you're not dead, or could explain if y-your body didn't turn to d-d-dust. B-But you have determination. However, m-monster bodies are unable to sustain determination without f-falling apart. I was able t-to stall that pr-process, but only by flushing out the older determination and re-replacing it with new. I h-had some determination l-left over from a previous ex-experiment. But even though I did that, the d-determination will still eventually d-destroy your body. I-I'm already running low. Th-there's just nothing I can do, Undyne." Alphys put her hands to her face again, tears dripping down her cheeks.

Undyne grabbed Alphys's arm. "Alphys, stop. You're a freaking genius for saving me this long. Now I can try again. Think about that – if I go and kill the Human, it will be only because you gave me determination or whatever. Don't give up, Alphys _._ This could be a chance to stop them."

"I don't want you to die, Undyne," Alphys said. She took Undyne's hand in her own again.

"Nobody wants anybody to die, but the Human will kill everyone anyway, unless someone can stop them."

Alphys said nothing.

"If I leave, will my body survive long enough to fight the Human?" Undyne asked.

After a pause, Alphys answered, "Your body still n-needs more determination before you can leave, but even if they're at the palace, y-yes, but after an extended fight, even if you w-win…"

For a few moments, they remained with Undyne's arm around Alphys and Undyne's hand covered with Alphys's, then Alphys breathed deeply and pulled away. "I tried to f-fix your fingers as best I could. Before y-your body fully re-solidified I was able to sort of mold you hand back to to-together. It's not perfect, and the top p-part of your pinkie had fallen off by the time I s-saw it."

Undyne examined her hands. Like Alphys said, her remaining fingers were mostly where they were supposed to be, but they were all misshapened – crooked and too narrow in some places, too wide and pitted in others. Several lumps dotted the heel of her hand. She closed her hand into a fist. Not much good for a spear anymore, but she should still be able to use it for magic.

Alphys stood a few steps away, fidgeting like she always did when she was nervous. She saved Undyne – there couldn't have been much time to both figure out what the hell exactly was happening with Undyne and to come up with a solution, but this beautiful, brilliant monster did it. Because of her, both human and monster kind had another chance, however small.

"D-Do you w-want to know who the d-dog thing was," Alphys asked quietly, "and where we are?"

"First can you come here?"

Alarmed, Alphys immediately approached. "I-Is it your hand? I tried m-my best, but I-I had a time limit. Oh god, is it your body?"

"Nothing like that," Undyne said and grabbed Alphys by her lab coat. She pulled Alphys into the kiss. For a minute, Alphys was frozen and Undyne knew she had made a huge mistake, but then Alphys touched Undyne's cheek and returned it. Undyne took Alphys's hand in her own and held it as they kissed.

"W-Wait." Alphys broke away and staggered backwards a few steps, her cheeks visibly red.

"No," Undyne said, "you have no idea how long I've want to do that. Not just because we're all gonna be killed by the Human, but for a long, long time. But now I'm thinking I was pretty damn selfish and stupid to kiss you now because I'm just gonna die, but I really don't care, because I really freaking love you, Alphys."

"U-Undyne, I…" Alphys shook her head. "I t-told some lies that could change y-your mind."

"Alphys, nothing short of genocide could make me feel any differently about you, and even if it was genocide the Human beat you to it." Careful not to pull out the IV, Undyne stood up and tried to take Alphys's wrist.

Alphys yanked her hand away. "Y-you r-really don't know."

"Alright, try me," Undyne said, sitting and crossing her arms, "You tell and when I still love you, I'm gonna kiss you again and kill that Human so you can live in peace."

As if she had rehearsed it, Alphys began, "Th-this i-is the Tr-True Lab, and the reason d-determination is here is because I tried to inject it-it into fallen d-down monsters." Her stutter worsened as she spoke, and she reached tears several times. By the time she finished, she had to sit down on another cot because her body was shaking so badly.

"Alphys," Undyne said softly, "no matter how it ended up, you started injecting the monsters with only the best of intentions. Should you have told everyone that you accidentally made the Amalgamates? Probably. But you were willing to tell everyone the truth in order to save them, and everyone makes stupid mistakes. You can't be genius all the time."

"I-I knew monster bodies didn't produce determination f-for a reason," Alphys said, looking down. "B-but I stuck everyone with it, h-hoping it would all be fine."

"But you didn't know, and it was possible that determination could have brought them back. And you still did kinda bring them back. I recognized Endogeny for who they were, a bunch of dogs just wanting affection. Sure, they're not totally back, but this is a lot better than being dead."

Alphys shook her head. "Y-you don't get it."

"Me and everyone else? You said the other people you got to True Lab forgave you. I forgave you. Seems like there's only one person who hasn't forgiven you and, hint, her name is Alphys."

"I-I really don't w-want you to die, Undyne," Alphys whispered.

"If I have a one in a million chance of stopping the Human and saving everyone, I'm taking it. You saved a hundred people, Alphys, so now it's my turn to try. If I can save one more it'll be worth it. Besides, my body won't last forever. I need to do what I can with what I got left."

"I know," Alphys said quietly. Then, without another word, she got up and sat on Undyne's own cot. Alphys looked at the floor in a despairing way that reminded Undyne of when she met Alphys at the Garbage Dump, staring down at the water that fell down, down below. Now knowing what thoughts Alphys was carrying that day, Undyne wondered…

"Hey, Alphys, if I manage to beat the Human before I die, or if I just die, promise me that you won't go out without a fight. Like, don't throw your life away for something… not worth it. Promise me." With a twinge of guilt, Undyne wondered if kissing Alphys was selfish and stupid after all.

"… I promise, Undyne."

"Thanks." Now hesitant to kiss her, Undyne sat silently before finally reaching out and grabbing Alphys's hand.

"U-Uh, you should have enough determination to last in-in a few minutes," Alphys said. She looked back down at the ground for a moment before scooching closer to Undyne. This time Alphys pulled Undyne to her.

* * *

Frisk had forgotten that Undyne was mostly stalling for time so everyone could. Usually, they just killed all the remaining monsters after they broke the barrier. Since they knew about the True Lab thanks to their so-called "pacifist" runs, it didn't take Frisk long to find where they all were hiding. But thanks to Undyne the Undying's absence, they had the completely new experience of chasing down monsters they would usually just corner in the lab.

The differences invigorated Frisk. They had twirled their knife as they hunted the few monsters hiding somewhere in the Core. They even died a few times, thanks to some mass attacks and booby traps the monsters tried in desperate attempts for survival.

But still, now that they thought about it, things weren't too different, just in a different order. They began to realize this where they met Mettaton in the exact same spot and killed him without trying, no surprises there.

When they reached Sans, their anger caused them to make a few mistakes, they had to reset a few more times than usual. But the result was the same, they caught Sans by surprise. They had tried cutting him in different places, but it all had the same basic result unless they decapitated him. He only had one HP, after all, so even if they slashed only his little toe he would die. They actually did that once. They had expected Sans to comment about that, but death caught him too quickly.

They followed Sans as he staggered away, saying that he would meet Papyrus at Grillby's. Frisk had already killed Grillby this time, so at least they could imagine the brothers meeting up and having some grease in the afterlife or whatever.

Sans collapsed. The red stuff always confused Frisk. Blood? Ketchup? They actually planned to have a little taste in order to tell this run, but after Undyne they figured they should save that for later. They walked away, telling themself they would fight Asgore, then Flowey would kill him, then they would kill Flowey, and, then they would meet Chara once again, not that Chara wasn't here already _._ ( _You're here, aren't you, Chara?_ ) Chara didn't respond. _Jerk._

But a part of them hoped that there would be more changes, that a domino effect was happening just out of view and this would be a new finale. But, no, they should know better than to excite themself. A part of them said that even if it were true, just how many runs would it take them to get bored of a new ending. Not too long, right? Well, they could have just not reset after they reached what they thought of as the "true ending." No, they had to tear away living aboveground with Toriel. Chara said it was all Frisk's fault, but Chara was perfectly happy with the true ending the first time around. Chara could have let them have it when Frisk reset again, but no. ( _Do you regret it yet, Chara? Aren't you getting bored?)_

No answer.

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure how the kissing scene turned out, but next chapter we're going back to violence so that's good.


	3. Chapter 3

Undyne opened the door to Asgore's house. The memory of the near identical home in the Ruins caused her to pause. She thought of the pile of dust that was now all that remained of Asgore's ex, and wondered if Asgore thought that his previous queen was safe in her self-imposed exile.

Before leaving, Alphys had given her both a new eyepatch and a cell phone, and Undyne checked to make sure the latter was still there. When or if Undyne killed the Human, if she still had time, she would call Alphys one last time to relay the news and say goodbye. She continued on. The padlock was already unlocked.

As she walked down the gray stone pass that overlooked the capital city, she checked the status of her body. She seemed to be losing her solidity more rapidly than before; she could create deep indents in her arm and bend her arms backward.

She entered the Great Corridor. Light shining through the mosaic windows shone on the yellow, orange, and pale red tiles, a scarlet liquid splashed here and there on the floor. Swearing softly, Undyne advanced, aware of the possibility that the Human could be hiding behind one of the orange-yellow column like a wounded animal. The liquid was definitely blood. Barely congealed, it colored the floor in both speckles and smears. Toward the walls and columns had the greatest amounts – perhaps whoever fought the Human slammed them again the hard surfaces or could manipulate gravity like Papyrus – but the broadest trail led from the center of the room to a gray mound with the blood caught in it in the wet smears.

Still, the poor brave sucker who fought the Human must have been insanely powerful, causing the Human this much damage. Undyne followed another much narrower path, drops spattered at first close together but disappearing altogether about three quarters down the corridor. The Human must have had to use a lot of healing items to lose this much blood and still survive. The corridor resembled an anime fight scene, and Alphys had told Undyne that humans usually didn't have that much blood in their bodies, one of the few exaggerations in Alphys's human history. Undyne had no freaking idea what monster could have been capable of this, but mentally thanked the badass anyway and figured she would meet them in the afterlife if there was one.

If the Human had exhausted all their food… Undyne grinned. The little punk had to stuff food in their mouth several times when they fought Undyne. Let's see them try again with only their stupid little toy knife.

As she approached the Throne Room, she gripped her spear and held her bad right hand out and ready to create some magic, but her grin died.

" _No._ " It was quiet, completely silent. "Damn it," she hissed and burst into Throne Room. No one waited for her, unless you wanted to count the giant pile of dust resting on the flowers in the center of the room. She tore past the dust and entered the barrier room, but there was nothing.

The barrier, gray and endless, pulsed. Undyne fell to her knees. "Goddamn it!" There was no way, simply no freaking way that she died and came back to life just to be too late. The Human must have passed through. They were already probably slaughtering any other human that happened to cross their path, and who knew when the Human would decide to come back in. Definitely after they recuperated and restocked, not that Undyne would be alive anyway. All the monsters were fish in a barrel for wh-

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

She pushed herself up and looked around. She was alone in front of Asgore's house. Did she just collapse? Her spear was gone. That fact and that she had dreamed told her she must have been on the ground for longer than a few minutes. Cursing, she summoned another spear and marched into the house. Her dream might come true if she had been unconscious too long. Must have been all the damn determination in her body. If the determination caused her miss the Human after bringing her back to life, she would scream.

The padlock was unlocked, of course; the Human obviously came before her. But as she neared the Great Corridor she heard thuds and smashes. Not too late after all. Must be Asgore, either that or she was psychic and some other monster was beating the Human to an inch of their life. Undyne found herself laughing. With Asgore's help, there was no way she could lose. She turned the corner and in the –

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

…

She took a second to process this

…

 _What the hell? What the actual freaking hell?_

She jumped to her feet. Her spear was gone again. She was in front of Asgore's house again; what was happening? Without thinking she opened the door and walked in. The padlock was unlocked, what a surprise. She ran into the Great Corridor. Like with the first time, blood told tale of a previous battle. At this Undyne froze, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe she never left the True Lab and instead fell into a coma where she was stuck to repeat some messed up dream cycle until the Human killed her in her sleep. Maybe she was resetting her life like this was some video game. Maybe the determination in her body had a weird sense of humor. Who knew, really?

Undyne made herself take a deep breath and start walking. She couldn't have a weird existential crisis and freak out now. Whatever in the Angel's name was happening, the Human was somewhere out there. She inhaled and exhaled. She wanted to call Alphys and see if she could tell Undyne what all this was, but no. If the determination was making this happening or if her life kept resetting, she could use that to get to the Human and kill them. If this was a just a dream meant to entertain her until the Human came around to slit her throat, she might as well play along. Killing the Human, even in a fantasy, would be incredibly cathartic.

A loud thud jolted Undyne out of her thoughts when she was just a few yards away from the Throne Room. She burst forward. For a moment she thought Asgore was preparing to fight the Human and that she had arrived in time, but a ring of white magic bullets slammed into his cracking form and Asgore shattered. His SOUL shuddered in the air until another ring splintered that too. The Human stood still, a knife – real not plastic – clutched in their hand. They hadn't noticed Undyne.

Undyne gritted her teeth and was about to attack the Human while their back was turned, but then a flower, about three feet tall with yellow petals, popped out of the ground. It said with a forced grin and a tremble in its voice, "See? I never betrayed you!"

Something about realizing a freaking talking flower dealt the final blow on Asgore and Asgore's SOUL shocked Undyne's mind to clarity. She hadn't even summoned a new spear.

The flower spread his grin wider. "It was all a trick, see? I was waiting to –" He stopped and his manically wide eyes stared at Undyne. The flower opened his mouth to gasp something but that was unneeded. The Human whirled around and stepped back in surprise.

Unarmed, Undyne bared her teeth. "Miss me, Human?" She swept out with her right hand, sending arrows of magic at the –

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

Undyne swore out loud. She summoned a spear and began pacing, unable to control herself as curses spilled from her mouth. She was in a video game. She was in a freaking video game. Only the goddamn determination had access to the controls, not Undyne, and the goddamn determination decided the game was not about killing the Human, no, the game was about having fun while fucking with Undyne. What the hell? Nothing made any sense. What Undyne was thinking made no sense. That Undyne was just standing around made no sense. She entered Asgore's house. She didn't bother to shut her mouth and stop cursing, 'cause really, what was the point? She would reach the Human and the game would reset, because oh my freaking Angel wasn't that just freaking _hilarious._

Undyne entered the Final Corridor and was thrown to the side. She hit the wall with a grunt. Some kind of invisible force pressed her against the wall, and she tried to regain her footing but couldn't. She could see the Human in the corner of her vision as a blur, bounding across the wall. Undyne's mind clicked. _Wait a minute, gravity_. Undyne fell to her hands and knees but was reoriented.

The Human landed on the floor in a crouch, and without thinking about it Undyne thrust out her hand. Her manifested arrows ripped open the shoulder of the Human's sweater before they jumped out of the way.

"hey, undyne, hold on."

Gravity changed. Undyne lunged onto the side of a column while the Human slammed against the far wall. Undyne pulled herself up and rose carefully to a standing position. The short monster, ignoring the new gravity and standing on the floor, flashed his eyes. The Human rolled, but a bone shot out of the wall into their chest. They were hurled upwards, the new upwards anyway, and landed roughly on their side.

"sorry, undyne." On the floor, Sans shrugged apologetically. "didn't think you'd be coming. to be fair, neither did our little buddy here either, just judgin' by their expression." Besides him, large white objects emerged from flashes of light at both of Sans's sides. They looked like hovering fanged dragon heads; one blinked its black eyes slowly and opened its jaw, revealing teeth the size of Sans's arms.

"What the hell, Sans?" Undyne asked, bringing up her hand and feeling her magic fizz at the ready on her fist. On the opposite wall, the Human crouched and held up their knife.

"You complainin'?" Sans's left eye flashed –

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

She got up and continued onward again.

 _Sans_ of all monsters was responsible for the crime scene in the Great Corridor. Or more like will be responsible, Undyne supposed. Is currently being responsible? Whatever. Undyne wondered how long she had been passed out. She was definitely going through Asgore's house at different times. Either someone was resetting her at different moments or she was lying senseless on the ground for different lengths of time.

Undyne heard nothing as she approached the Great Corridor. When she stepped inside, blood again decorated the floor, walls, and columns. Stepping on a wide swath of blood, Undyne remembered the broad red trail led to that pile of dust. She turned her head without thinking and blinked when she saw not a pile of remains, but Sans himself, lying face up on the ground.

She ran, crouched next to him, and set her spear beside her on the floor. She gingerly took him Sans in her arms. He didn't move, only grinned up at her with black eye sockets. The Human had slashed his stout torso, slicing his blue jacket and shirt and leaving them hanging oddly on his body, probably because the Human had cracked his rib cage. Red soaked his torso and leaked between his teeth and out of his mouth. No healing would help him. He would turn to dust at any moment.

Wait. Why was he covered in blood? That the front of his body was soaked was feasible, but did he _bite_ the Human?

Sans's bone had not begun to crack and shatter; they were still white and smooth aside from a few chips here and there. Undyne stared, and the longer she did the more she realized that Sans was bleeding.

In taking Sans, Undyne's arms and hands had gotten covered with blood. She hesitantly raised a finger to her nose and sniffed. She wasn't exactly familiar with the scent of human blood, but whatever the red stuff was, it wasn't ketchup. But how come a monster was bleeding?

A series of cracks and pops sounded, and Sans quivered in her arms. Lines shot like bullets out across his skull and hands. Within a second Sans was gone except for a heap of dust on her lap and specks clinging to her body. Undyne stood up. She had seen many monsters die, but nothing like this. Forgetting about the blood, it took more than half a second to go from solid to dust. What the hell _was_ Sans?

A hero, that's what. He fought the Human and nearly goddamn won. Undyne didn't have time, so she walked away, trying to brush the blood and dust off her arms and clothing. If time reset, Sans might be alive again anyway. The resetting would have to stop sometime, and if it did and Sans wasn't dead, she would team up with him and together they would pound the Human to the ground.

She reached Asgore just as that flower dealt the final blow. Too late. She ducked behind the wall. If she was going to reset again and again, she might as well gather information so she could beat the Human when the time came. She expected to hear the sound of Asgore's SOUL breaking, but instead she heard a high-pitched shriek. Undyne risked it and glanced into the room. She saw the flower slumped again the wall and the Human with a hand on Asgore's flickering SOUL.

Shaking, the flower lifted his head, a leaf and a petal dangling by slender green and yellow ribbons from the rest of him. The Human glowed while the flower stared and trembled. The light died, and Undyne saw that a green fluid glimmered on the Human's knife.

Undyne grit her teeth and clenched her fists to prevent from charging the Human. They had already absorbed Asgore's SOUL. She couldn't win against that, and she would reset anytime. She knew it.

The Human set their sight on the flower.

The flower said, "C-come on. You didn't mean to hurt _me_ , right? It was an accident. You didn't mean to hit ol' Flowey the Flower." Flowey flinched as the Human stepped towards him. "H-ha. Ha ha ha. You really think I was going to destroy that SOUL, don't you, Chara? Geez, you know I would never do that. Honestly, I thought you knew me."

The Human stood still, and Flowey visibly relaxed. Then the Human had their knife plunged his stem. Flowey's face twisted, but he didn't scream. The Human jerked their knife free, letting Flowey's head and petals fall to the ground. They stabbed again. This time Flowey let out a sort of choked croaking noise, and Undyne couldn't take it any-

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

Undyne had processed it before, but that flower, Flowey, prevented the Human from passing through the barrier. But in different versions of the same events, the Human stopped Flowey before he could ruin the Human's plan. Undyne stood up. So what was up with him? Could that flower be an ally against the Human? Or against Chara, as Flowey called them. Chara must be a common human name. If the chance arose, Undyne would try to save Flowey and see what he was trying to accomplish when he killed Asgore. Undyne groaned and pressed a hand against her head. She didn't understand anything. She removed her hand because the way it pressed her skull flat creeped her out. She put a foot on stairs that led down to –

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

Okay, _really?_

Something about taking five steps and then resetting made something snap in Undyne. She was pacing back and forth in front of Asgore's house, curses streaming from her mouth like someone busted open a water pipe with a sledge hammer. She let out every word she knew and made up new words when she ran out, and then she went back to good old, "Angel freaking dammit. What the fuck are you even trying to do? Is this part of your grand freaking master plan? You decided, "Yes, Undyne must take five steps in this reset for this shit to work the way I want it.' Why in the Angel's fricking –"

* * *

Undyne's face pressed against gravel.

…

Deep breaths.

…

Alright then.

Undyne pushed herself up and formed her spear. She sprinted through Asgore's home and to the corridor. _Quickly check the Sans situation, then haul ass to the Throne Room. If you see the Human, just attack them and see what happens this time around. If you have the ability to rewind time, might as well use it._

Upon entering the Great Corridor, she caught a small figure exiting the room. Chara, the Human. They had just killed Sans. Keeping to the walls, she advanced as quickly as she could without making noise, which was much more quickly that she would have if she was wearing armor. She stepped around Sans's body. She would have the best chance if she faced Chara with Asgore's help, now that Sans was dead. If she could shadow Chara, Asgore would try to talk them out of killing everyone, and the king of monsters would definitely last at least a few hits. If that flower helped too, this could work.

She reached the exit of the hall. Her eyes closed, she listened for Chara's small footsteps, waiting for the best moment to sneak after them.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

Undyne whirled and saw the flower, planted in the polished floor of the hall like it was damp soil. Flowey stared at her with wide eyes, stared but his eyes seemed focused on something far away. He looked _freaked_.

"Okay, listen here, flower," Undyne whispered. "You know the Human that just passed through? They're gonna kill you. For whatever reason, time's been resetting on me and I've seen you get killed in multiple let's-call-'em-timelines. I've seen you kill Asgore and destroy his SOUL so the human can't get it, and they kill you in one timeline after you destroy the SOUL and in one before. So if you want to freaking live, we need to work together. Got it?"

That shocked Flowey to the present. His eyes cleared and he slid backwards. "Timelines? That's impossible."

"Keep it down," Undyne hissed. "You think that's impossible and the Human killed me before all this. Stuff's crazy. Sorry if it's fricking overwhelming but we need to get the Human before they take Asgore's SOUL. You didn't want the Human to pass through the barrier, so let's join forces so we both live."

"Chara kills me. H-heh. No, they won't do that. Don't lie."

"Help or not, but I gotta stop them," Undyne said. "But they did and they will. Keep that in mind."

She turned, and as she did so she heard Flowey say, "Betray them? No way. I wouldn't –"

A ring of white bullets pulsed around Undyne.

She swung her spear to create an arc of magic that knocked away a section of the bullets. She lunged out of the way just before the bullets collided together. "What the hell?" she growled and saw Flowey. His expression had morphed, black eyes and a leering grin took up half his face. He laughed.

"I would never betray Chara. We're in this together, see?" The voice that issued from Flowey was demonic. A dozen green tendrils rose out of the floor around him and thickened into thorny vines. "As for you, you want to stop them. Can't allow that, sorry. After all, what are friends for?"

Cursing, Undyne fired arrows at the rising stalks They twitched and she severed only a few. The others launched at her. She swung her spear in a semi-circle, slicing the vines, but most dodged and one punctured her left shoulder. She gritted her teeth and cut it in a slice of magic. The remaining vines reared back. She jumped out of the way, hitting the floor in a roll and sending magic towards Flowey. The arrows cut down several more vines, but Flowey ducked down and disappeared into the floor.

"Are you out of your mind, damn flower!" Undyne shouted, swiveling to catch where he would pop up next. She wasn't resetting – she was actually fighting this plant instead of the Human. Slowly, she backed towards the exit.

"Remember back in the caverns?" Flowey's voice came from behind her. Undyne turned in time to knock the two vines away from her with the shaft of her spear. Flowey continued as she dispatched them. "One hit sliced you in half and shattered you like some window a kid sent a baseball through. Some head of the guard you are."

"Some friend you got." Undyne fired magic at Flowey, but he dove into the floor again. She raised her voice; if Chara didn't hear the rest of the commotion they didn't hear anything at all. "Hey, do you think if you kill me they might feel bad about killing you? They didn't seem to mind too much last times."

"One human, down you go." Again, behind her. White bullets shot towards her. She threw herself to the ground, jarring her elbows and rousing a jolt of pain from her otherwise numb shoulder. "When do you think Chara's going to find your girlfriend? You know, Dr. Alphys cried a lot after you died."

"Ngahh!" Undyne hurled her spear. Flowey swung his head to the side and it flew over him, crashed into the wall over Sans's body and broke. He righted himself, winking.

"Now you're back. I guess she isn't watching you this time, but I'm sure she would absolutely _bawl_ after you're killed again." Undyne stood, this patch of the floor slick with red. "Why don't you cry for her now?" She raised her hands and spears appeared over her head. With one movement of her arms they aimed their points and burst forward. Miss.

"You're gonna die after all." Something closed around Undyne's good left hand like an animal's bite. A vine she had just severed wrapped around Undyne's hand and yanked. Feeling nothing, Undyne watched as her half her hand came off like the vine had ripped away. In the corner of her eye, Flowey winced sympathetically.

With another swipe that flung reddish-blue liquid from her left hand, spears crashed on the floor where Flowey used to be. He reappeared near where part of Undyne's hand melted into ooze and his broken vine browned and shriveled. "Alphys's gonna die too." Rage shook her body. Spears, miss. "Golly, she was so scared just watching." Spears, again, hit nothing and he disappeared under the floor.

He popped up in front of her, and before he could dodge a spear ripped through one of his petals. His face twisted, but when he forced Undyne to cut and dodge his vines once more, he grinned. "When Chara comes, she'll probably be so scared she'll pee herself! I think I'll watch."

Green segments writhing like dying snakes thumped to the ground. Then something pushed into Undyne chest. She looked down and saw a vine plunged into her, right near her heart. Only a little pain, but the spear dropped from her misshapened right hand. The vine quivered and rose, taking Undyne with it. It shook her, threatening to tear her body in two, but then it retreated, rearing away.

Undyne fell to the floor. Lying face down, a wet feeling spread across her torso. She rolled to her side and first saw the ice blue shaft of her spear just inches from her right hand. A white and yellow face appeared several feet away from her.

Undyne closed her hand around the spear. "I _will_ watch," Flowey said with a grin. He bent closer to her as his tattered petal knit itself together. "It'll be fun. It'll be delicious."

Undyne swung the spear on the floor, its tip coming inches from Flowey's. Flowey flinched, but he began to smile again he realized he was safe.

Undyne laughed. "Gotcha."

Flowey tried to duck down, but couldn't. Once more, Undyne used her spear as a crutch to haul herself to her feet. Her legs trembled underneath her, but when she put a hand to her chest she could feel the hole gradually close up. Her determination was killing her, melting her body so that now her scales were coated with a drippy bluish fluid, but it was also keeping her alive at least for a little while longer. Only able to work with limited space, Flowey called up one vine which struck Undyne in the arm. Undyne severed it with magic from her dripping left hand and it fell to the ground. She ignored the wound.

"You saw how I came back to life and thought it was a good idea to taunt me?" Undyne asked. A ring of bullets closed in on her, but her body was running on pure determination. Everything else about her was dead, but determination drove her on. It didn't matter how much more damage she took because she had already taken enough to kill her. Anything else was both excess and useless.

Undyne stood over Flowey. He said nothing, his monster face gone. Undyne spun her spear in her hand. "Okay, I don't have much time, so let's just get on with it." She stabbed the spear into Flowey's face. She could feel the green magic which held Flowey begin to fade, and she released that and withdrew her spear. Flowey slumped forward, shivering violently, making unintelligible choking sounds. He didn't begin to crack. Undyne's body melted as she watched, but nothing. His groans shifted into what sounded almost like the sobbing of a young child. She waited, but the only thing to begin to turn to dust was her spear.

"Shatter, damn it! Die, already!" She slammed the point of the disintegrating weapon into the back of Flowey's flower. The piercing silenced him for only a moment before he resumed. Undyne's hands trembled. She tried to summon magic, but nothing happened. She couldn't put him out of his misery. Horror made her want to vomit as she stood in front of the shivering, mangled flower. Why wouldn't he die? This was not supposed to happen.

Undyne raised her hands in front of her face. It would have been nearly impossible to tell which was in worse condition. Melting was a good word. She was dripping, a good portion of her forming puddles the floor. Somehow she and Flowey had ended up near the dust pile that was Sans; his body had shattered sometime during the fight. The fluid her body was turning into flowed through the blood to the pile of dust.

She wasn't resetting. She was going to die, watching the flower she couldn't kill. Chara must have reached Asgore by now. She found herself shambling away from Flowey, towards the exit. With Chara still alive, Alphys and everyone else were still in danger. Chara caused everything. Undyne would not stop into she was dead.

"Undyne!" a familiar voice called.

"Al-Alphys?" Angel, please let it be a hallucination. But Undyne turned and saw a short blurry yellow and white figure rush to her.

The figure took Undyne and lowered her to the floor. Slowly, Undyne's vision began to clear. She shook her head as it did. Her head rested on Alphys's lap as Alphys kneeled on the bloody, dusty, wet floor, holding a syringe in one of her hands. Alphys took in her surroundings, looking as though she would throw up. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked back down at Undyne.

"God, Alphys, what are you doing here?" Undyne asked, her voice rasping in her throat which she could feel gaining solidity along with the rest of her body. She clenched her hands, and her fingers mushed against each other but otherwise the fists held.

"Y-you called me, Undyne. You t-told me." She looked at Flowey's still trembling but silent form. "Wh-what's h-h-happened-"

"Don't look," Undyne said. Alphys shouldn't be here. She shouldn't have to see all of this. Undyne tried to push herself up, but Alphys put a hand on Undyne's shoulder.

"W-wait. I just injected you. You sh-should wait just a little b-before moving."

"Injected me?" Undyne repeated. She stopped trying to move. "Alphys, what happened?"

Alphys looked down at Undyne for a moment before shaking her head. "I-I d-don't understand."

"Did you say I called you? That didn't happen."

"B-b-but, it was definitely you. The signal was scratchy, but i-it was your n-number. You said it was safe, th-that the H-human was gone."

"They aren't. They're still here. We need to get out." Since Flowey didn't have a chance to attempt to destroy Asgore's SOUL, Chara must have taken it themself and crossed the barrier. Theoretically, that left Undyne and Alphys safe for now, but Undyne didn't want to take that risk.

"Then wh-who - "

Ignoring Alphys, Undyne first pulled herself to a sitting position, and then scooched to a pillar to try to stand. Alphys dropped the syringe on the floor and braced herself next to Undyne with her arms held out as if to try to catch Undyne if she fell. Undyne leaned against the pillar. She maneuvered to her knees first and pulled herself up. Her legs trembled and burned like she had just run herself to exhaustion. She saw Flowey, now ignored by Alphys. He hadn't turned to dust, but he was quiet and still except for periodic movements like a breeze had come in and rustled him. She hoped he was finally dead.

"H-how are you f-feeling, Undyne?"

"Been better," Undyne answered slowly, willing her body to grow strong again so that she and Alphys could get out of here. "Been a lot worse. Obviously." She tilted her head towards the red-blue fluid dripped all over the floor, and instantly regretted the gesture when Alphys's hand brushed a wet patch on her lab coat and the monster flinched.

"Alphys, I don't know who called you, but something weird's been happening with me too. Before getting here, time reset for me about eight times. I restart in front of Asgore's house and I get to see different things at different times."

A slew of expressions crossed over Alphys's face. She opened her mouth more than once before asking, "Are you sure?"

"Definitely did not dream it, but I thought it at first." Instead of getting worse, the burning sensation in her legs eased up the longer Undyne stood. Cautiously, she put some more weight on them. They held up.

Alphys said, "In the r-royal lab I found some books which suggested determination in select h-humans could give th-them some c-control over time. Maybe… Th-this, it can't be a coincidence. T-too many things are h-happening at the same time."

"Probably. But how could the determination call you with my cell phone?"

"W-well, if there's time travel, p-perhaps some k-kind of paradox occurred and y-you called in al-alternate timelines. A ripple effect could have – Undyne!"

Undyne had tried to release the pillar and take a small step. She managed it, but then she attempted to walk more and her legs collapsed out from underneath her. Alphys tried to catch her, but as Undyne has several feet in height on her, Alphys staggered a few steps before they both went down.

"Damn it," Undyne hissed. She lay on top of Alphys in a space of floor that was thankfully clear of any dust or fluid. She rolled off and landed on her back. Her legs didn't burn, but they tingled like they had fallen asleep. "Alphys, are you okay?"

"M-me?" Alphys righted herself and crawled to Undyne. "What happened to you?"

"My legs. They were burning, but now they're tingling and getting numb." Alphys immediately began prodding Undyne's legs through her soaking wet jeans. "Alphys, the Human. They might have already crossed the barrier, but they could come back here and see us."

As if she didn't hear Undyne's last sentence, Alphys said, "The determination isn't maintaining you as long as b-before. W-With the magic you used, y-you must have gone too far. I d-don't have any more determination with me either."

"Alphys," Undyne began.

"N-No. Don't y-you s-suggest it. I-I can get you out of here. L-Like you said, if there's a one in a m-million chance, I'll tr-try. M-Maybe I c-can find some materials i-in the throne room of Asgore's house to c-construct a travois for y-you."

Undyne strained to push herself into a sitting position. "Alphys, please don't."

"O-one in a million." Alphys stood. She purposefully didn't look at Undyne, and her shoulders shook. "Just pl-please rest and don't strain your body."

No, she couldn't let Alphys do this. Undyne was a goner, basically dead already. Alphys had a chance, and the other survivors needed the royal scientist there. Undyne dragged herself to the walls, Alphys telling her to please stop, and began to push herself up. Though her legs had gone numb, the tingling returned as she raised herself. She hoped to the Angel that was a good thing.

(A whispering echoed around her ears, and she ceased trying to move. Roaring, the sound blocked out Alphys's words. The whispering entered her thoughts like a gust of wind.)

(She stood. Her legs rebelled, but that was irrelevant. They no longer needed to retain their form. They spread out and merged with each other, becoming a column reinforced with carefully distributed magic. This body's new base spread out near the ground to provide more surface area to prevent Undyne from falling in her weakening condition. Dr. Alphys – a yellow reptilian monster, a sharp mind but underdeveloped magical capabilities – approached, possibly concern on her face.)

(Good. Undyne needn't do something to draw Alphys closer. She braced her arm and held it out towards Alphys. Alphys, likely taking this as a sign of distress, stepped closer and held out her own arm. Undyne's arm stretched forward and enclosed around Alphys's hands. Alphys eyes widened before Undyne pulled her into her chest. No longer any need to keep any form. Undyne let her body go. Her bones and veins and scales became the same and melded into what she wished. Her mind flashed to Endogeny, the dogs' body, and she( _?_ ) decided that both the dogs' and Undyne's cases were similar. She melded around Alphys, fully encompassing her, and closed her -)

* * *

(- eyes, and when she opened them, she stood in front of Asgore's house. She felt Alphys within her, struggling. Unfortunately, Undyne did not have much ability in the kinds of magic that would be able to calm the doctor. Still, Undyne ( _?_ ) focused and was able to isolate Alphys. She allowed Alphys to reemerge, but the other monster thrashed once she was free. She would not stop, and Undyne tried to form her original body, hoping that would calm Alphys instead. It worked, though not at first. Undyne had wrapped her arms around Alphys, holding her still. Alphys ceased her struggles and whispered, "U-Undyne?")

(Undyne concluded that Alphys was unlikely to run. She released both the weaker monsters and -)

"What the -?" Undyne staggered backwards until her back hit the wall of Asgore's house. In front of her, Alphys held a trembling hand to her mouth, eyes tearful, her tail curled around her. "Holy hell," Undyne said. "Alphys, are you okay?"

"I-I…" Alphys stammered. "N-Not, not hurt. What happened with you?"

"Angel, Alphys, I swear that wasn't me. It was, I dunno, like someone possessed me." Undyne grabbed her arm and squeezed, but it gave only slightly. Undyne looked down at herself, but everything appeared normal. "My body… I don't know what that was."

"D-did we just go back in time?" Alphys asked quietly.

"This is where I ended up before, yeah." Undyne looked at Alphys again. Alphys's tail had curled tighter around herself, and wringing her hands she looked up at Undyne in a way that made Undyne sick. Fearful. "I didn't - I'm so sorry, Alphys."

"I-I know you w-would never… do wh-what you just did," Alphys said. "S-Something happened. You w-weren't you, I know." She unwrapped her tail and made as if to step forward, but stopped at the last minute. Instead she said, "It's not your fault, Undyne."

(Perhaps it would have been better to wait for the two to discuss the situation more, but they had a certain timing. Undyne considered how best to approach this. Maybe she could just give them instructions to retrieve Sans themselves, but Undyne was unpredictable at best…)

("Undyne?" Dr. Alphys asked.)

(Undyne opened her mouth, but against expectations the sounds that emerged clicked understandably to Undyne, but judging from the widening of Alphys's eyes, only Undyne.)

("Wh-Who's there?" Alphys balled her fists, though the tremble in her voice beyond the usual stutter suggested she only did so as a front. "I know y-you're not Undyne.")

(Undyne ( _?)_ frowned. She couldn't speak, even though her body was clearly capable. Alphys said, "Well, wh-what are you doing?")

(Undyne turned and placed a hand on the doorknob to Asgore's house. She looked at Alphys.)

(Alphys's eyes moved from Undyne's hand to her face. Undyne glanced down, wondering if her fingers were losing form. At first she ( _?)_ thought not, but then she realized she had reformed her hand that Endogeny had unwittingly mangled. She had fixed it unconsciously. Alphys said, "Wh-what… you want me to f-follow you?)

(Undyne nodded.)

("F-first tell me what y-you're doing to Undyne.")

(Though she had thought it quite obvious, Undyne ( _let_ ) pointed to her throat and shook her head.)

(Alphys took a hesitant step forward. "J-just, stay away from me until you're the r-real Undyne.")

(Undyne opened the door and stepped inside. She waited at the foot of the stairs for Alphys, but the monster came slowly. It would be better if Alphys hurried, so Undyne tried to smile in order to reassure her. It… did not appear to work. Alphys appeared more horrified than anything else. Undyne ( _?_ ) mentally chastised herself ( _you're_ ). She had never been good with that, and this body did not help.)

( _…You're not me. This isn't your body, f-_ )

(Undyne paused on a stair in order to quiet the voice ( _not a voice)_. She disliked profanity.)

( _Tough luck, fucker. And make the fucking distinction. You are not fucking Undyne. I fucking am.)_

(Undyne…(?) frowned but continued onward. She could hear the footsteps of Alphys as she followed. She-they said mentally, It is difficult to separate myself when I am controlling your body like this. I believe it will become less so in time.)

( _If you think I'm just gonna let you use my body for however fucking long you want, you have something else coming, bastard.)_

(I find your language distasteful and inappropriate it. I realize you are in the habit of using such words normally, but you appear to using them more often simply to upset me, they said. They had reached the bottom of the stairs, and now walked through the basement, Alphys trailing behind. They had an impulse to look back, but that impulse probably came from Undyne.)

( _No shit and boo fucking hoo. By the fucking way, can you feel pain? I'm gonna punch myself in the goddamn face if yes._ )

(That would be self-injurious also.)

( _Yes, asshole, but also fucking worth it. You fucking have no fucking face of your fucking own, so I have to fucking take what I fucking get.)_

(This is very immature, they pointed out. Undyne began to say more, so they looked up and focused intently on the ceiling, trying to drown her out.)

(They continued this way as they led Alphys to the Judgment Hall, crude words occasionally slipping through. They felt Undyne trying to take control, but it was like a toddler trying to overpower an adult. They would have explained, but they doubted Undyne would listen. All they told her was that they had no intention of utilizing her body for an extended period of time. That, unfortunately, led to no change in her attitude.)

(Alphys's footsteps hesitated for just a moment before she continued onward into the hall. They walked to the column behind which Sans lay and turned in time to see Alphys gasp and put a hand to her mouth. "S-sans?")

(With Undyne's body they nodded, but Dr. Alphys was already rushing to the skeleton. They closed their eyes and, still partially focused on muting her, said to Undyne, The determination is for him. Help Dr. Alphys take him back to the True Lab.)

(They hesitated for a moment, considering how to approach this. They decided it was best to state it bluntly. Sans is not like other monsters. His body can still hold itself together with some determination in his body. Your body, like those of other monsters', cannot. He can be saved, but not you. They finished and felt for a nonverbal reaction from Undyne, but nothing. She had already found some way to hide herself from them.)

(They released her.)

Undyne staggered forward. She was finally free from that bastard. A few feet away, Alphys had removed Sans's jacket and shirt to expose his ribcage. She hadn't noticed Undyne's sudden movement. Undyne stepped forward. "Alphys, it's me, Undyne. I'm back."

Alphys flinched and turned to Undyne. She hesitantly stood up. "U-Undyne. U-um, what happened? S-sans… I can't help him. He's al-almost been cut in half. He's bleeding, but I don't know what th-that means. While you w-were resetting, did you l-learn anything about this?"

"We need to give him determination, quickly. He'll turn to dust, but I don't know how soon."

"D-determination? I-I-I…"

Undyne took a step forward, wanting to come closer, but then she remembered what her body did to Alphys. "What you gave me," Undyne said, "Stay with me, Alphys, this may be the only way to save his life." But Alphys had already pulled out a small plastic box from her coat pocket and had opened it. It was a first aid kit, a small syringe filled with red fluid resting neatly inside.

Alphys picked it up with a trembling hand, but she breathed in deeply and positioned the needle at one of the vertebrae of Sans's neck. "A-are you sure? Th-this is the last. Only a sm-small amount at the lab, n-not enough to save anyone. His injuries are worse even th-than yours w-were."

"Do it." Undyne knew she was a goner. The determination certainly did her no good in the long term, and even if the messenger was a piece of shit, Sans did not deserve to die when he could be saved.

Alphys pushed the plunger. Undyne waited for something to happen, but nothing. Alphys set the empty syringe on the ground and looked at Undyne again, wringing her hands. "Th-that doesn't even m-make sense. Y-you or… someone called me and I sh-should still be coming to you r-right now. Sans, he needs h-healing magic, f-for his ribs."

"I'll do it." Alphys's magic was weak in general, but Undyne had had plenty of opportunities to hone her healing with the Royal Guard. Plus, healing magic was much gentler than regular magic and would not harm her body as much. As she sat next to Undyne, her body shifting and drawing Alphys into it came into her mind, and she scooched an inch away from Alphys without thinking about it.

What the bastard had done to Alphys using her body made Undyne sick, and the sight of Sans's prone form did not help with that. Undyne had seen many injuries, but blood made everything different. She had seen it in anime, but it was different in real life. Chara had cut clean across his ribcage. Pieces of snapped off bone lay near his spinal cord. Too much blood had pooled on the ground for Undyne to see if Chara had injured the spine, but Sans hadn't seemed like he was in two pieces when she first came across his body. Undyne took the largest piece of broken off bone and held it in place. Her hands glowed white, and slowly the bone grafted back on. She removed her hand and it did not fall. You couldn't heal a dead monster; there was that. Though Undyne had never come across one like Sans.

Undyne mended the bones back onto Sans's body. Alphys wrapped gauze around the scars Undyne left behind. Alphys bit her lips, but neither of them said a word. Undyne knew Alphys wanted to ask what the fuck had just happened, though probably not in those exact words, but Undyne didn't freaking know. And giving the determination to Sans, they knew what that meant.

Undyne had picked up all of the larger segments of bone when Alphys gasped and jerked her hands away from the rib she was bandaging. Undyne opened her mouth, but then she saw Sans's ribcage slowly contract and then rise again. Part of Undyne asked why his bones needed to move in order to breathe, but Alphys said, "H-He's a-ac-actually alive."

Undyne grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him firmly. "Wake up, Sans. Long story, but we need to get out of here."

"Careful, Undyne!" Alphys said and put a hand on Undyne's arm, the first contact since Undyne's body was taken over. "Don't f-force him into consciousness until h-he's ready. The d-determination is trying to fix him."

Sans's eyes flashed but went out almost instantly. Undyne might have thought she'd imagined it if Alphys hadn't said, "H-he's coming back! B-But the determination isn't… Un-Undyne, h-how did you l-learn -"

"Someone took over my body. They told me. I don't know why. They just did."

"T-told you?" Alphys asked.

"I don't know, we were speaking inside my head, but I still didn't have any control." Undyne shook her head. "They told me I could save him, and the determination sure wasn't helping me. Sans was killed fighting the Human, now we need to get him to the True Lab."

"Undyne, are y-you sure… that being… you know?"

"They're definitely a real piece of work, but why would they lie about this?"

"Yes, b-but why would they t-tell you in the first place?"

Undyne paused. "I don't know." She looked back down on Sans. Though he still lay on the ground unconscious, he seemed to be improving. The largest chips in his body had been filled in with fresh bone, and Undyne caught a crack slowly draw back and begin to disappear. After this experience he would have a bunch of new scars, but he would live. "But we can at least save one person…"

"L-let me check h-his spine first," Alphys said quietly. "His injuries are d-disappearing, but I sh-should be sure. How we will get h-him to the lab?"

"I'll just carry him, I guess." Undyne answered. Alphys nodded.

Alphys's hands moved under Sans's rib cage and felt the spinal cord. After a moment, she withdrew them.

"He's g-good. It's a-amazing, really. He's g-going to live. U-um, Undyne… I-I didn't say, but I love you." She looked at Undyne. "I-I'd take your hand but my hands are d-dirty and w-we need to g-get going."

"I know," Undyne said. After a short hesitation, she swooped in to peck Alphys on the cheek before carefully gathering Sans into her arms. She stood – hopefully she would be able to make it to the lab before the determination melted her – and Sans shifted but did not wake up.

* * *

Somehow I originally estimated this chapter would be four thousand words. Somehow. Anyway, the next chapter should be on the shorter side. Time to write the next chapter and hopefully take less time doing so.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry if there are typos. This was written for NaNoWriMo.

* * *

They had just reached the lab when Undyne collapsed.

Undyne had grown quiet, needing all of her energy to carry Sans. Liquid trailed down her arms and dropped off at her elbows, and her body shone as if she were gleaming with sweat. Alphys wanted to ask, but she knew the answer. Then Undyne's knees buckled and she fell. Sans, who had been slung over her shoulder, flew forward, landing in front of the lab door, causing them to open with a swish. Sans made no sound, nor did Undyne.

Alphys rushed forward. Fluid soaked the rock under Undyne's body. Alphys tore herself away, remembering what Undyne had wanted. Alphys was not a physically strong monster by any means, but they were so close, she had to do it. She grabbed one of Sans's arms and maneuvered him over her shoulder. At least Sans was a skeleton - bone compromised only approximately thirty to forty percent of a monster's total weight - but the weight of Sans's short but stocky body caused her to hunch forward even more. She swallowed through a lump in her throat and tried not to think of Undyne, laying on the ground, turning into a puddle. _This is what she wanted. I need to save him._

Alphys half-dragged Sans through the halls of the lab, so familiar even with all of the lights turned off. She made herself hurry, thanking her tail that let her keep her balance so easily. Get Sans inside, and then she could get help to try to bring back Undyne before she...

She reached the door of the True Lab, her heart beating faster as it always did when she turned to face its gray metal. With her hands full, she brought her tail forward to knock - what she had always done to alert the Amalgamates - but stopped herself. Instead she called, "It's me, Alphys, someone pl-please open the d-door."

The door swung open with a swiftness that made Alphys start, revealing the slender form of Min, who had been the innkeeper back in Snowdin. She had been waiting at the door, that was obvious, but clearly did not expect to see a barely breathing skeleton over Alphys's back. She put a hand to her mouth and gasped audibly.

"Mommy?" a young voice asked, and Alphys could see Min's daughter looking between the gap of the door and her mother's body.

"It's fine," Min said, coming forward to help take Sans at the same time. Her daughter's eyes widened. "Mommy and Dr. Alphys have this, Lapys. Get Aunt Quinn."

"S-Sans..." Lapys stammered, frozen.

"Go now," Min said.

Lapys backed away and fled the room as if from a wraith.

"Dear Angel," Min whispered. "Dr. Alphys, is Sans alive?"

"H-He is. I f-found him with Undyne. B-But we need to get h-him to the infirmary."

Min eased almost of all of Sans into her arms. "Here, let me take him." The taller monster, despite her small frame, could handle Sans much better than Alphys could. "Alphys, is... is Undyne coming?"

"Sans?" another feminine voice said. Quinn entered, a purple-furred and a rabbit like her sister. "Angel, Min, let me take him."

"N-No," Alphys interrupted. "Undyne i-is outside. She is un-un-unconscious." Her voice cracked on the last word, but she didn't have time to go into Undyne's condition in detail. "Quinn, I n-need your h-help getting her."

"Of course," Quinn replied, but the sisters exchanged a look as she spoke. Alphys was too upset to try to figure out what it meant.

"I, uh, Sans will be okay e-even if I can't help him right n-now. I-I'll go with you. Min, please get Sans inside."

Quinn nodded and Min answered, "Of course," and carried him to the infirmary. Quinn walked past Alphys while sparing a concerned look downwards at her. "Where is she, Doctor? What condition is she in?"

"She's just outside. She's not g-g-good, but, if w-we get to her in t-time, we might -" Alphys cut off her words because Quinn began moving so quickly, and Alphys had to run in order to catch her stubby limbs up with the rabbit's longer legs.

Upon seeing Undyne's body, Quinn began to swear but quickly cut herself off. Undyne was still mostly solid, and that was all that could be said. Quinn didn't wait for Alphys's word before picking up Undyne with a grunt. She gritted her teeth as she bore Undyne's weight, the fur on her arms becoming soaked. Alphys opened her mouth, but Quinn said, "No words." She hurried back, moving just as quickly as before despite her burden.

Alphys burst in front of Quinn so that she could open the door.

"Dr. Alphys, is Undyne -"

"Lapys, Kid, get out of here," Quinn gritted.

Lapys's nearly shrieked where she saw the state of Undyne's, but Kid's expression could only be described as devastation playing out like a crash, running its course and burning hope down. They shook their head as if in disbelief.

"Out!" Quinn barked.

Tears spilling from her eyes, Lapys once again fled, but Kid was frozen. Droplets of water traced down their cheeks too, and they said, "No, Undyne came back. She's back. She isn't."

"Kid," Quinn said, her voice a gentle warning.

Kid looked at Alphys. Alphys looked back and knew that the children were not the only ones crying. Kid turned without a word and bolted out faster even than Lapys. They hit the doorframe but went on as if it hadn't happened.

Quinn marched to the infirmary. "Keep yourself together, Doctor," she said as she went through the door.

Taking advise from Lapys and Kid, Alphys tore through the halls as quickly she was able. She heard Endogeny woof when they saw her, and she might have told them that she was too busy to play, but nothing of the passage mattered except for the destination. In cabinets covered with dust, long stripes had been traced through the gray coating of one.

In here used to be Alphys store of determination. Back before everything it used to be full of the red stuff, jars and jars. But dosages for forty-three Fallen Down monster had used up nearly all of it. Afterwards she had just a few vials left, and barely resisted the urge to destroy it all.

Now half of a vial remained. She took it, next coming into a much cleaner area with less specialized medical supplies. She grabbed a syringe and came into the main infirmary, where Min and Quinn looked up at her approach. They both has been looking at Undyne.

"Doctor," Quinn said. "I put Undyne on a bed, but I wasn't sure..."

Undyne had already soaked much of the mattress. But where else were they supposed to put her? In a tub? Probably that was the most hygienic, she was going to be all liquid soon enough. It was a miracle she wasn't already, but Alphys would let nobody be treated like that, no matter how comatose and near death they were, not to mention her girlfriend. The sudden bold thought made Alphys feel a hysterical giggle. It seemed like Undyne would think, or say most likely. Then she remembered what she said. Undyne was her girlfriend for so short a time, and Alphys loved her. Angel, why didn't she say anything. She had to wait for Undyne to say it because she was going to die.

"Doc," Quinn said, "you okay?" She stepped forward. Alphys realized that she was just standing there with a syringe and a vial of what the rabbit would have probably misidentified as blood.

She knew why her thoughts had gone in that direction. She had to make a choice that wasn't really a choice. Her hand screwed the half vial of determination onto the syringe. Quinn said something else, and Alphys just shook her head numbly. She knew what she would have to do. She looked first at Sans, then at Undyne. Undyne's body was tense, as if fighting some battle in her subconscious. She seemed to have shrunk, her body thin enough to look starved.

"Alphys!" Quinn barked. Min said the name of her sister and stepped forward just as the broader rabbit placed a rough hand on Alphys's shoulder. "Keep yourself together. You've done a great job so far, collecting everyone here, and I realize Undyne is important to you, but if you fall apart now both she and Sans may not make it. They're counting on you!" She gave Alphys a hearty shake, at which Min placed hand on her sister's arm and Quinn ceased, stepping back with a firm look.

Yes, both Sans and Undyne were counting on her. She mumbled out something like "I'm sorry, Quinn, I know what I'm doing." A part of her wondered if she was lying to both the rabbits and herself. The other part of her knew what she was doing. She stepped past the other monsters and stood in front of Sans. He rested on a bed next to Undyne's. Beside from that brief flash, she had not seen anything in his eyes but dark holes. She barely interacted with the skeleton, but she had a strange feeling that she at one point knew him well. She injected him with the determination. She held her breath, her eyes drawn to San's sockets like theu were black holes. Nothing

Nothing

Still nothing

Oh, Angel.

"Is anything happening?" Min asked.

"I-I don't know, " Alphys responded to her. "It's, well, it would be d-difficult to explain it and I r-really can't explain it all now, but Sans is, I-I just don't know."

She flinched when something touched her back, but it was Quinn. Meanwhile, her sister said said, "Is there anything you can do for Undyne?"

Alphys shook her head, looking at the ground. "U-Undyne, sh-she wanted to save S-Sans, and I kn-know that giving h-her determination wouldn't d-do anything, in the e-end, but…"

Quinn stepped away, but Min came to take her place. Neither of the women said anything. Min comforted Alphys; Alphys sobbed quietly, Quinn stood with her head bowed in the corner, perhaps praying. Alphys was exhausted, but she knew someone had to monitor Sans, and she wanted to be with Undyne in her final moments. She took Undyne's slick, diminishing hand, waiting for it all to end.

She waited much longer than she would have thought. Sans did not change in his condition, but neither did Undyne.

* * *

A day and a half had passed. No change. In either of them. For Undyne, it was simply unaccountable. Alphys knew what determination did to a monster's body. Undyne should be done, but she had stopped melting. She was much smaller and it seemed like her bones had all been turned to clay, but she was still here.

Undyne wouldn't turn to dust or wake up. And neither would Sans.

For Sans, Alphys had an explanation, but she begged the Angel it was not so. Oh, Angel, please, no no no. Sans was different, he _bled_ , please don't let this be.

During the day and a half after bringing the two to the lab, Quinn had led a small group of monsters out to gather supplies, especially food. Alphys had managed to tell everyone what had happened. That the Human was gone came as shocking, bringing hope all knew would be short-lived. Some brave monsters volunteered to take shifts watching the barrier, having a phone with them so they could warn if the Human returned. They volunteered even though if the Human returned while they were on duty it would mean their death. And Alphys sat in the infirmary, watching Sans, and most of all watching Undyne.

Min was busy; she had the job of keeping an eye on her daughter, Kid, and the other younger monsters hiding in the True Lab. Speaking of children, Alphys had seen Lapys and Kid once since they intercepted her and Quinn bringing Undyne into the lab. She saw Lapys nearly pleading with Kid, Kid sitting on the ground, head down, asking Lapys to leave them alone in a hollow voice.

While Min and Quinn and the other monsters worked, Alphys watched. She couldn't even justify that it was for health. They would wake up or they wouldn't; there was nothing else to it. Min and Quinn insisted that it was fine. Alphys still treated some monsters who returned with minor injuries, but the others were so much braver than her. Why wasn't she volunteering? She wanted to be brave. She got the monsters here, but she couldn't help them beyond that.

An image appeared in her head, a deep abyss leading into blackness. The roar of water. She thought of that abyss, leading down, down, down. It entranced her, even when she could not actually go to it. It appeared again and again in her mind.

Undyne appeared in her mind, saying, "Don't throw your life away for something… not worth it. Promise me." And Alphys did. Alphys recalled that and wrung her hands and twisted her tail around herself. She remembered. For Undyne, she c-c-couldn't.

She knew what she had to do. Sans was not normal, but his condition was one she was all too familiar with. With her mouth feeling like it had been sucked of all saliva, she entered the dusty room where the determination had been stored. In a corner, was a small gray machine with a screen and wires trailing out of it on a rolling tray. Alphys wiped off most of the grime with the several dusting cloths she had brought with her. She wheeled it into the infirmary, it screeching as it went. She parked it in front of Sans, took a deep breath, and began the short, simple procedure that she had performed so many times.

She was to connect the wires to the center of the chest, near where a monster's SOUL was located. In Sans's case, she had to strategically place the wires on his ribs, but that should not interfere or distort the accuracy of the machine. The machine was old, but the test itself was reliable. She hooked Sans up and powered the machine on.

There was a slight whirring sound, and Alphys placed a hand just over the center of Sans's chest, focusing to call up a glow of white magic. When a monster uses white healing magic on another monster, the magic travels directly to the other monster's SOUL, the SOUL being responsible for a monster's wellbeing. Though Alphys's magic was weak, the machine required only the smallest help to connect with a SOUL. The screen flickered on. Alphys held her magic for a moment until the machine flashed with a grainy imprint of the upside down heart of a SOUL. The gray was blurry but came into more focus. That did not matter, though, because the machine highlighted what mattered in an almost neon yellow.

When a monster suffers from depression, it can be seen in their SOUL through complex testing. Depression caused the light, magic-filled substance that comprises a SOUL to lose its vitality, making tiny pockets of the SOUL harden and almost literally turn to stone. With depression, the minuscule hardening of the SOUL is not dangerous, though of course depression has its own health risks (Alphys had studied a lot on the subject). At most it weakened the monster's magic, not even in all cases. The hardening that occurred when a monster falls down is many, many times more extreme.

When a monster is depressed it is as though fine sediments of sand had been sprinkled and caught in their SOUL. When a monster begins to Fall Down, the hardening starts in the SOUL's center and grows rapidly, sucking in more and more magic, increasing the hard kernel's growth exponentially. By the time it is over, most vitality has been sucked out of the SOUL, leaving only a thin skin of magic around what amounted to a devouring rock. Without magic, a monster cannot function, and will soon turn to dust.

This stone is easily detected, and Sans had it. Alphys let her magic die out. Sans had Fallen Down.

Alphys stumbled to the chair she had set up beside Undyne's bed and collapsed into it. Her breaths became ragged as images of what had eventually happened to those other who had Fallen Down who and whom she'd injected with determination. Oh, Angel, she didn't mean this to happen. Really she didn't.

She saw the canine members of the Royal Guard, changing, melting and dripping onto the floor as their bodies stretched and contorted and rose like bread. She remembered how they mixed together. She had run, and she heard what could have been barks or screams coming from outside her hiding place. When she had emerged the dogs had become one, Endogeny.

Oh, Angel, Sans was going to become an Amalgamate. Why did she think that Sans having blood would save him? He was a monster, a skeleton - it was obvious. She knew what would happen. In three to five more days, he would wake up. For a while it would seem like nothing was wrong, and then a day or two later... it would happen.

Alphys forced herself to take a deep breath, in and out. It was done. Last time, she thought she was saving them. It was the same with Sans. She honestly believed it would be different. He was different and he obviously wasn't Fallen Down before coming to the lab (Fallen Down monsters do not move or flash their eyes). In fact, it still could be different. It -

Alphys couldn't get herself to be that optimistic.

* * *

Several hours had passed. The volunteers who went in search of food had returned along with the volunteer who had spent a quiet shift watching the barrier. Most of the adult monsters were in a room together discussing matters, but Alphys couldn't bring herself to join them, though Quinn asked. Though Quinn said she understood, a small voice in Alphys said that Quinn only understood that she was a coward. Alphys was just a coward, hiding, refusing to join every other adult. Guilt gnawed on her, but twenty minutes had already passed, and even if it had been no time at all the dark, heavy feeling in her chest would have anchored her down.

Alphys made herself stand up, eventually. She glanced at Sans, lying on the bed, breathing lightly, nothing. She glanced at Undyne, breathing heavily, body tense as if she were battling some enemy within her, also nothing. She made herself leave them and exit the infirmary.

The meeting had just ended. She passed several monsters, all of whom wished her luck or offered words of encouragement. The dark weight in her chest twisted each syllable, morphing every sentence into hidden judgment and pity. Still, shame would have swallowed her if she just returned, so she shambled around the lab, cleaning next to some others who tidying the True Lab. With another twist. she remembered who it was exactly who let the lab fall into disrepair in the first place. Though guilt had driven her out, it did not abate as she helped the others wordlessly. After about fifteen minutes, the area was finished, the others having worked on it before. Alphys excused herself and made for the infirmary again, hoping no one would have come in with a minor injury or in search of her.

No one waited inside: just her and the Undyne on the bed. She closed the door and closed her eyes, until she realized what she had seen. Undyne lay stiff and unmoving on her bed, but Sans's was empty. Alphys whirled around and headed out the door again, hesitating while she decided where to search first. If Sans was fully conscious and aware, he would have gone off to find someone, but he could have just waited and called for help. Alphys wasn't gone that long. If someone had encountered Sans, certainly they would have come directly to Alphys. She decided to head off into the deeper areas of the lab which were still grime-coated and mostly deserted, even with the high density of monsters now dwelling here.

She set off down the hallway, pausing at each door that hung open and looking into the dark, dirty rooms and calling for Sans.

"Dr. Alphys?"

Alphys saw Min, leading Sans with her hands on his shoulders. "M-Min, you f-found him."

"Kid ran off again, and I was looking for them here while I sent Lapys to search in the cleaner parts of the lab. I found Sans wandering. I tried to ask him if he was okay and what he was doing, but he didn't answer."

Alphys approached. "Sans, are you there?" Lights shone in each of his eye sockets, but it didn't appear as if he were behind them. He adjusted his gaze to look at Alphys, but otherwise made no move.

"Is he okay?" Min asked.

"Let's get him t-to the infirmary. H-He's probably fine and will w-wake up fully soon, but we c-can't let him just walk around like this."

Min nodded, and began gently guiding Sans back down the hall to the infirmary. When they actually reached the room she lifted him slightly to get him onto the bed. He sat there, no longer looking at anyone, just staring straight ahead. Min did not say a word, so Alphys said, " Sans?"

Sans made no reply. Alphys walked so she was directly in front of him and said his name again. He turned his head slightly to look her in the eyes. She tried to speak, but there was no kind of response.

"Min, can you w-watch Sans. I need to get some things so I can test just how aware he is."

Min bit her lips. "I can't stay for long. I really need to get to the children as soon as possible."

"I will be gone for just a m-minute," Alphys said. "As in literally. Probably less, or I s-suppose possibly more, but only b-by a few seconds."

Min smiled slightly. "That will be fine then."

"Th-thank you," Alphys said and turned to leave. She opened the door and closed it again, letting her hand rest on the knob momentarily while gathering her thoughts. No monster that was Fallen Down had woken up even slightly in such a short period of time. Maybe Sans wouldn't end up like them after all.

A shriek sounded from the room. Alphys jumped and her tail hit the wall when she flapped it instinctively. She threw the door open and saw Min in the middle of the room and Sans standing in front of the bed.

He turned to look at Alphys, his eyes focusing on her. Alphys took a hesitant step forward. "What's happening?" The lights in Sans's eyes were focused and saw things clearly, but something about them made Alphys feel cold. He walked towards her and opened his mouth. The sounds that came out beeped and clicked and seemed too familiar, and then Alphys realized why.

"Alphys?" Min said, her eyes still locked on Sans. Alphys had taken several steps backward. The thing that had taken over Undyne, it had gotten Sans too somehow?

Then Sans raised their hand in a stop gesture. They pointed to themself, then to Alphys, and moved their hands, finger extended with the thumb and index finger making a circle, in a back and forward motion.

' _Explain'_?

Without thinking about it, Alphys pointed to Sans and then to Undyne on her bed. She hesitated before holding her hands palms downward and drawing them up into a fist. _You her take. Did you take her?_

Sans knocked their hand on an imaginary door, and then quickly crossed their pointer fingers and moved them to point up. _Yes, but._ They pointed to themself and Undyne again. They shook their head while they brought their index fingers together twice violently. They placed their finger on their check. They put a closed fist in their palm, raising both hands. _Yes, but I did not hurt her, I helped._

Alphys pointed at Sans, trying to remember how to ask someone who they were. Her mind tried to call up a sign, but all they came up was the sign for name, which was not specific enough. Then she remembered non-manual markers – facial expressions that indicated when you were asking a question. She pointed at Sans again while tilting her head forward and raising her eyebrows.

Sans answered by moving their finger from their ear to their mouth while shaking their head. _Not deaf._

"Alphys," Min asked. "What is going on?"

What was going on? She was signing. She had never thought of it before, but she knew how, or used to know how anyway. But she couldn't remember actually learning it. Sans or the being in Sans's body moved their hands and looked at her with eyes she realized were a strange gray color, like monster dust. Not like Sans at all.

"Why didn't y-you sign before?" Alphys asked them. "When y-you were controlling Undyne?"

Shaking their head once, they pointed to the comatose monster and put an outstretched hand to their cheek before twisting it with a shake of their head. They interlocked their fingers by forming circle with their thumbs and forefingers twice rapidly. _She does not know sign._

"Sans? Is that you?" Min asked, taking a step forward.

The thing with Sans had made Alphys forget the rabbit was even in the same room. "No, Min," Alphys said. "Th-They-" But Sans already answered her with a shake of their head.

"But –" Min stared at Sans before turning back to Alphys. "Alphys…?"

"S-Someone is using Sans's body. Th-They say that they want to explain."

Sans looked from Min to Alphys before holding out their right hand and swiping their flat left hand over it. Alphys struggled to recall what that sign meant, but then they made as if they were holding a pencil and mimed drawing on his hand.

"You w-want to wr-write?"

Sans nodded, making no move. Min looked at Alphys anxiously.

There was paper and writing utensils in the room, so Alphys stepped away from the door, leaving it open. She tried not to take her eyes off of Sans, but she was shaking so badly that she nearly tripped over her own tail, and she had to turn around to sift through the cluttered counters anyway. She hurried as she did so, unintentionally knocking objects which she did not pick up to the floor. She found a couple sheets of paper that had only been scrawled on and tested a few pens before finding one that actually worked. She turned and saw that neither Sans nor Min had moved. She hurriedly walked to Sans, but paused a few steps away from them. They just regarded her, and she made herself step forward and hand the being that was not Sans the paper and pen. They pressed the paper against their leg bones and began to write. The writing was messy, like that of a child's, and it took Alphys a few moments to decipher it. _I would like to speak to you alone._ Min had come closer to read over Alphys's shoulder, but it was obvious to whom Sans was referring. "Wh-why?" Alphys asked. They looked at her and wrote, _This does not concern her._

Min looked at Alphys. "Alphys, I don't have to leave unless you want to..."

Alphys breathed in deeply. This being inside Sans was going to talk to her. She steeled herself. "No, M-Min, it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Alphys pulled her hands into fists. She had to do this. This was the only option. She was too cowardly to go to the meeting and face the other monsters after Undyne, but this could be a chance in order to do something at least. And she had to know what that being had done to Undyne, and if they still doing something. Undyne hadn't turned to dust or melted yet. That must mean something, and like Alphys said earlier, it couldn't be coincidences.

Min backed away hesitantly. She gave Alphys one last questioning glance before shutting the door. Alphys watched her go, and when she turned back, Sans was already scratching the pen against the paper.

They turned it so that Alphys could see _. My name is Dr. W. D. Gaster, and I was the Royal Scientist before you._

"… Wh-what?" Alphys said. She tried to clear her head. "But there was nobody I know named Dr. Gaster. You can't be..." Then something weighted on her mind. Who _was_ the scientist before her? It was something she should have known. After all, someone had to have built the core. She had a predecessor. But who was it? She couldn't come up with a name, she couldn't even come up with anyone ever having mentioned another scientist. There had to be one, but there was nothing.

 _I had an accident where I fell into one of my inventions._ Gaster had been writing while Alphys spoke and thought _. I was scattered throughout the Underground and erased from existence. No one remembered me._

"That c-can't be," Alphys said. "S-Something like that, th-that could erase a monster fr-from existence, w-we would know. It wouldn't have just infected you, th-there would be a huge area, such an im-impact would have taken other casualties.

Gaster paused from what they were writing and instead interrupted in big letters: _I was not the only one. There was a large disaster area, but it is connected to me, thus you do not remember._

What? But there was no way, right? Alphys just stood while Gaster finished their bigger paragraph.

 _I have been in a scattered state for a long time, but people, including the Human, have been playing with time. It caused a rip in the fabric of the Underground. I was able to pull myself together first with Undyne, when her SOUL was leaving, because she was a natural host for limited determination, the agent that allows time manipulation._

Alphys read Gaster's words but barely comprehended them. She flitted through the possibilities. There was no memory, but there had to be holes in their story. That would mean... something so big. Monsters had died? The Human was manipulating time? "But, it-it doesn't m-make sense."

Gaster paused their writing. They cocked their head at Alphys.

"You, j-just first of all you said Undyne d-didn't know sign, but y-you know it. How w-would that be possible. Y-you obviously had your own memories when y-you were controlling her."

Gaster held up a hand and wrote a short sentence.

 _I was not yet fully gathered together and my presence was tied too closely to Undyne's SOUL. How do you know sign?_

That stopped Alphys. She couldn't hold it back anymore. This was huge and unthinkable, that a huge chunk of her life had just been whisked away, but she had always prided herself on being a realist. When all of the evidence point towards one conclusion that point in this case being a huge hole in the minds of all of the Underground, she had to accept. If it was unbelievable, she simply had to reevaluate. The reevaluation pointed to Gaster telling the truth.

"Y-You taught me sign?" Alphys asked.

Gaster looked up with a look of irritation on their face, something she had pretty much never seen on Sans's own. They wrote, _I am unable to speak, both now and with my own body. I used sign to communicate._

"H-How much did we kn-know each other? W-Were we friends? U-Um, what g-gender are you, b-b-by the way."

Gaster wrote, _We spent time together. I am male. This is irrelevant to the current situation. I am trying to tell how I will be able to stop the Human and prevent them from destroying every monster in the Underground._

Alphys tensed inside her mind. She had forgotten what Gaster had done to Undyne in her own brief moment of overwhelming awe, but she remembered how... how he just had swallowed her up. And he, he didn't seem like a nice person. What was he like? She probably knew him, but what was their relationship. She had no way to know what he had been like before all of this. Gaster was still writing away on his piece of paper. Alphys squinted her eyes, trying to read the sloppy handwriting upside down, but she was only able to get a dozen or so words before he turned it so she could read it all.

 _Sans is the only one who can defeat Frisk. Sans has incredible magical ability, beyond any other monster in this place._ Alphys gaped at this and looked at Gaster in Sans's chubby, lazy bones. He gestured with his head towards the paper annoyedly so she began reading again. _He is not like other monster. The determination in his body will not kill him. It is possible to wake him unharmed from his Fallen Down state. I have been trying since Undyne first injected him, and I have succeeded somewhat, as shown that I am able to move with his body, but his consciousness is not yet awake. I need to be able to wake him._

"He n-needs to," Alphys may have been able to absorb what Gaster was saying if he had not said it so bluntly. "Defeat Fr-Frisk? Is th-that the human?"

He nodded.

"H-How can I-I help to wake h-him up.?"

He wrote more, this time just a short sentence. _Is there more determination?_

"N-no, I injected y-you, or I-I injected S-sans, with the last of it."

Gaster neither tried to write something down nor moved his hands to sign. Instead he simply let his lights flash off for a moment.

"C-Can you w-wake him u-up w-without determination?" Alphys asked.

Gaster paused a moment before returning to his paper, turning over a new sheet and writing underneath doodles of anime characters, _Yes, though it will be more difficult. I need to be alone in this room._

Alphys tried to understand without asking Gaster, but nothing came to her. Though she remembered his irritated expression at her other questions, she felt like this was a necessary one to ask. "Wh-Why?"

Gaster had begun writing right before she asked the question. _When you called up Sans's SOUL to test for him being Fallen Down, that left a nearly unnoticeable imprint. If I can connect to it, I may have more power to call it up. Your SOUL in the same area would cloud the imprint which is already difficult to isolate. Undyne will not affect the reading because the determination has overcome the magical properties of her SOUL."_

"B-But, that's not a th-thing. A SOUL doesn't leave a l-lasting mark, even if it's c-called by magic. And m-my magic isn't even –"

Gaster held the piece of paper in front of her face, cutting off her words. Only a few words had been scrawled onto it: _I was Royal Scientist. I know things you do not._

Alphys felt herself blush and turned around, knowing that when her face colored it was incredibly noticeable. She thought to herself, and something came up. That explanation as to why Gaster needed to be alone came quickly, even though he seemed annoyed whenever she asked any other question. He might have just deemed this explanation relevant, but something stuck with her. The way he had mentioned Undyne and went into so much detail about why she could stay.

Alphys turned around to face Gaster. He regarded her, having laid the paper on the bed Sans's body had been resting on. He pointed to the door while tilting his head.

"N-No, w-wait," Alphys stuttered. "Are you, are you going to d-do something with Undyne?" He had been able to control Undyne's body before she was unconscious, but so was Sans. If that was what he wanted to do, why did Alphys have to leave in order for that to happen? Even if it were true, she would not just let the monster who yanked away her girlfriend's control of her own body take it or do anything with it again.

Gaster raised his hand and signed a single word. _No._

Suspicions still clogged Alphys, but she couldn't find a way to voice them. Finally, Gaster apparently grew impatient and picked up the pen and paper again. He brought it to her. _If I cannot wake up Sans, I may lose my chance to defeat Frisk. The lives of every monster and many humans will be lost. Please leave the room._

Those words caught in her chest, seeming to echo from that deep, roaring abyss. Her gut tightened, but she couldn't leave Undyne when that nagging feeling would still not abate. She looked at the door, and started towards it before she said, "J-just promise… swear on the Angel th-that you aren't going to d-do anything with Undyne." She turned back towards him to see his response.

He put his finger to his mouth as if he were shushing Alphys, but then flattened it and brought it outstretched onto a fist. Alphys had no idea what the sign was, but then he moved his fingers into what she soon identified as letters. He finger-spelled, " _P-R-O-M-I-S-E."_

There was nothing else to do. Alphys opened the door and stepped out, her heart pounding, her hands sweaty, and a hard feeling in her gut. She reflected on Gaster's promise. He knew her and taught her sign language so that they could speak in some time that she could not remember. She told herself that W. D. Gaster's promise must count for something.

* * *

Gaster remembered time that he himself had spent with Alphys. Of course, after falling into his creation he had been scattered throughout the entire Underground and had countless memories of her in many, many alternate timelines, but his own memories where she actually knew he was there were different. Alphys had always been emotional. Though he had only heard of Undyne before his fall, he knew Alphys cared for her deeply.

Time had taught to do what he must.

He approached Undyne.

As he did so, he tried to wake Sans again. He compiled himself, trying to rouse Sans's SOUL, but it remained still. The mass of magicless SOUL did not recede. He had more control than any monster over SOULs, thank to his previous state; he knew that he should be able to wake him. But it was not working.

He had a theory. The reason Undyne had not melted was because he was sustaining her, only briefly releasing her while he tried to reach Sans. Gaster had taken control of Undyne's body in order to save Sans, but in doing so a small part of Gaster's essence may still be attached to her. He was not operating at full potential, which was required to heal SOULs. He was not entirely certain as to how his essence could be caught, but he guessed that the same substance that allowed him to take control still held a small part of him.

The only answer he could think of was to take back all of the determination in her body.

He placed a hand on her tense but still forearm. His winked out Sans's eye lights and focused. He managed to meld Sans's hard bone into that clay-like substance and sunk it into Undyne's scales. He reached out a tendril of both his and Sans's magic and felt his way along Undyne's veins, until he found her SOUL, pulsing strongly, not Fallen Down in the least. He would have had to let her go eventually; no matter what she would have died. He released his hold that stabilized and maintained her at the same time that he plunged, tapping into the well of determination and calling it all into him. Undyne's magic flared, but Gaster redirected it down her own body. Her hands shone with sparking magic, fizzing on her fingers. Her SOUL writhed angrily. She was not conscious, but did not need to be in order to try to preserve herself. She was a true fighter, and Gaster felt a pang of something that resembled regret.

The determination was gone. Gaster pulled in his presence and jerked his hands back. Undyne's body immediately began to melt. Gaster had been paralyzing her magic so that she would not deteriorate, thus her unconsciousness, but now her body jerked. In a minute her eyes would open and she would utter a sound. Gaster could not allow that. He exited Sans's body, becoming a presence connected to nothing. He could feel himself begin to disperse, but he isolated a small part of himself, attaching it to Undyne.

Gaster, when in his scattered state, had felt the distortion but did not understand it at first. He naturally clustered at it, but only when Asriel began to experiment with his determination-given abilities did he realize that they were small rips, anomalies, caused by cutting through timelines. He had spent so much time examining them, the things he himself created once, though on a much smaller scale. Now he was able to present the distortion to himself in a way that resembled the strings of an instrument. He took hold of one and dragged Undyne's essence to it.

Undyne had disappeared. The new determination in Sans's body dragged Gaster to it irresistibly. He returned, turning his eye lights on again and taking a moment to realize that his body now lay on the ground, the side of his skull pressed against the dusty floor. He pushed himself up, his bones scraping against the hard floor, and the door opened.

The reason he had sent Undyne away so quickly was so that her noise would not alert Alphys, whom he assumed would be waiting nearby, probably just outside the door. But in sending Undyne away he released Sans, and Sans, with no one to hold him up, collapsed. Alphys heard and entered the room anyway. Gaster cursed his shortsightedness.

Of course the first thing Alphys noticed was the absence of the one whom Gaster had promised not to touch. Her expression fell, and turned into one of abject devastation. Gaster debated whether it would have made Alphys better if he explained that Undyne was to die anyway, and that Undyne's death might as well help to destroy the Human who killed her in the first place. It _would_ probably help, once Alphys had gotten most of the emotions out of her system, but at the current moment she would not accept it. Her reaction probably was amplified by the fact that he had promised, but he considered that the only way to do what he must.

"Wh-what did you do to her?" Alphys said, her voice distorted by sobs. She had been saying some other things previously, but living with his essence scattered throughout the entirety of the Underground had taught him to blank out he had no desire to see or hear.

He glanced at the door. Alphys said nothing else intelligible after asking Gaster that question. He would leave Alphys now, but he knew what thoughts she sometimes struggled with and what she did in some timelines that he had experienced. If he waited, her crying was loud enough for others to hear. Someone would come, and he would leave Alphys with whomever that was and trust that person to not let Alphys do anything rash.

Alphys had said some more things, and was now looking at him, tears tracing down her cheeks and her body trembling violently. Again, he had little idea what she said, but assumed this would be an appropriate answer. He walked past her and reached for a piece of paper, flattening it against the wall in order to write, _In order to wake Sans, I needed more determination, so I took the rest from Undyne's body and sent her back through a timeline so that she is now in Asgore's Palace. She would not have survived anyway, and she would want to end fighting Frisk._

He wrote that and looked it over. It seemed sympathetic to him. He tried to hand the piece of paper to Alphys, but she swiped it from his hand. It floated to the ground. She screamed at him. Some of it he could not understand, but the gist was that he promised and broke her trust. He would have tried to hand her the paper again, but suspected she would react the same.

He simply backed away and watched her while trying to drown out whatever she was saying. Part of him could understand why she was upset, but mostly he wondered why she would react such a way to an inevitability. Probably it was because him keeping Undyne together for a period of time gave her a false sense of hope, but shouldn't she have examined the probabilities of each outcome and prepared herself. He supposed that logic had little to do in most emotions. He also supposed that that was the reason he was rarely a help in these circumstances.

The door flew open with such a force that it crashed into the wall and rebounded back. Finally, someone had arrived – the shopkeeper in Snowdin – but she took one look at Alphys and marched toward him. She grabbed him by the arms and slammed him against the wall. She glared down at Sans's small body, snarling with pure rage contorting her expression. Gaster should probably have expected this.

"I have no idea who you are but I know you are not Sans," Quinn growled. "So you are going to tell me what the hell you did. Right. Now."

Though Quinn's bark was worse than her bite, as the saying went, Gaster knew how frail Sans's body was. He did not move except to gesture with his head to the paper lying on the floor. Quinn glanced at it. She momentarily glowered at him, but then she loosened her grip. Despite her anger, she realized he had no way to communicate while held against the wall.

She shoved him to the side. He hit the wall and stumbled. He was not used to Sans's body. "Don't move," Quinn spat at him, reaching for the paper.

Possibly Quinn would have read his words and understood, but Gaster did not like to take unnecessary risks. Sans was short and stocky, but agile. Roaring, the rabbit leapt for him the moment he made for the door. He stepped through it, and her cries cut off. He stood in Grillby's, the small establishment dark, its surfaces having gathered only a small layer of dust.

He looked around before finding himself walking towards the counter behind which Grillby usually stood. Gaster did not consciously decide to come here; he simply began to teleport without a destination in mind. But Sans came here often, often by the same method, "taking a shortcut" as he called it. It could be that Gaster simply recalled that fact and subconsciously teleported himself here because of it, but it could also be a part of Sans rising up and guiding him here.

Grillby's was as good a place as any. With most of the remaining inhabitants hiding in the True Lab, nearly any spot in the Underground could have served as a suitable place to try to wake Sans, but maybe Sans's fondness of this small pub would help him to come back.

Gaster sat in Sans's usual spot and extinguished his eye lights. With his vision off, he gathered a portion of his essence and drilled deep, deep into Sans's SOUL, searching for a light that would lead him to the skeleton who slept in his own body.

* * *

Undyne's feet hit the ground and she staggered. Jerking her head, she looked around. Grand pillars, mosaic windows, the Great Hall. She saw the still wet blood painting the room and took a few stumbling steps forward. She was dripping again, but she was dead, right? She had collapsed, she remembered it. But now she seemed in a better condition than when she was carrying Sans, albeit that was extremely relative. She took another step forward and her body lurched. Something pounded in her soul and she realized she felt the same as she did as when Flowey had impaled her through the chest.

"What now?" she muttered to herself and moved forward to reorient herself. Then she saw, at the doorway, the Human, Chara, clutching their arm. They stared at Undyne, eyes wide.

* * *

eyes wide.

* * *

eyes wide.

* * *

eyes wide.

What the hell was that?

The Human approached, suddenly their expression was gone. They looked at Undyne with nothing but determination. In fact, nothing in their expression suggested shock, but still Undyne remembered that.

Time travel? It must be, but this was different.

She took a step towards Chara, making sure that they could see the teeth though her grin. It honestly felt like her lips were slopping off her face, but she hoped that added to the effect.

"Hey, Human," she greeted. "Aw, did Sans beat you up. Poor little kid. Here, let me put you out of your misery."

Chara's hand clutched their knife tightly. Though their previous caught-off-guard look had disappeared, something else was also wrong.

Yes, Undyne could specifically remember the Human's arm clearly hurting them, but now it seemed fine. They walked forward with a pronounced limp, and a gash ran across their forward and dripped blood that they brushed out of their eyes. This was definitely a new scenario in a new timeline or whatever. So was Chara having time manipulated for them too? She asked herself that before she realized she could just ask the Human.

"This may seem like an odd question," Undyne said. Chara eyed her cautiously, but advanced almost imperceptibly forward. "But have you done this before?"

Chara said nothing, but Undyne had never seen them actually respond to anything with much emotion. She talked out loud, "Is that why there's never any feeling on that freaky little face of yours? You just reset over and over again. Does that mean I killed you?" She laughed. "How many times?"

Chara continued to regard her with nothing. Undyne had an idea and wanted Chara to attack first, but she needed them to do that before her body melted by itself. She raised her arms. Fluid rained from them. "I see you getting slowly closer and closer. Come on, just-"

Chara burst forward, jumping to stab Undyne in the chest. The dagger pierced through. Undyne looked down at Chara. Chara tilted their head up and met her gaze, their face expressionless. Undyne leaned down towards them and bared her teeth at the same time she sent a spiral of arrows towards the Human.

Her arrows circled before closing in. Chara threw themself backward, dodging the arrows they could see coming. But the magic Undyne had summoned tore through her own bodu and continued on towards Chara, slicing a shallow cut on their cheek and a deeper one that may have reached to their bone on their arm. Still their face contained nothing.

Undyne smirked and summoned a spear. "Wow, you would be great at poker. Heh, I guess I haven't tried that move yet." As she spoke she swung her weapon, waves of green magic rippling from its arc. Chara ducked backward and dodged below the first two swings. Undyne aimed low and caught them.

"Notice how I made sure not to summon any spears this time?" Undyne asked. "I'm done fighting fair."

Undyne swung her spear, and each time arrows of magic circled the Human before shooting forward. Chara spun and swiveled their head, trying to see them all coming, but Undyne's magic would not let them run away. They threw their body to the side, able only to take a small step, in order to avoid the first barrage. One arrow switched to the other side, cutting through their leg.

"I don't know how many times you have to be killed before you stay dead, Human, but I'm willing to find out." Undyne swiped harshly downwards. Without circling a column of arrow shot forward directly through the middle of the area Undyne trapped Chara in. They pressed themself against the invisible barrier, but there simply was not enough room. The arrows nicked them, lightly striping their face and torso.

"Hasn't the fact that you killed me once told you anything? You. Will. Never. Win." Nicking the Human was not good enough. Arrows came in from multiple sides but none hit. They ducked to dodge most of them, contorting their body to evade the few low ones.

Undyne hurried to follow up with a low barrage with a high arrow right where they would jump, but with the last swing the spear flew from her hands. Her hands ran with fluid. She could feel her scales sloughing away. She scowled

"Give up, Human!" Using any other magic would dissolve the green magic, but she had few choices. She gritted her teeth as she sent long spears at Chara. They burst free, sliding across the floor, only one burst of magic grazing their scalp.

"I can kill you so many times, Chara! That's your name, right?" Undyne shouted, but her magic aimed wide. Chara dashed from each spear with ease. However, something sparked their expression when she spoke. She continued, "I don't know how your time travel works, but if you can travel back to a time where you never tried to murder _my_ people, I will still kill you. You're scum. You're less than trash. You are a murderer. No matter what you do, I will find and destroy you." She punctuated each sentence with more spears, but the last time no magic came.

Her right hand fell to the ground with a splat, lying on the ground like melting snow. Her left followed. Suddenly she was on the ground. The Human crouched over them, slashing with their knife, driving it into Undyne's chest as if stabbing slush. They grinned, hideously joyous. They withdrew their weapon and slashed across Undyne's torso, flinging blue fluid.

"I am Chara."

Undyne felt no pain, but the Human kept stabbing and she feel them shovel away her body. She tried to move. The Human attacked the stumps of her arms, gouging, gashing, splashing liquid into Undyne's face.

Undyne had only words left. "Keep killing me, Chara. You'll see me again." Undyne's eye caught on large swatch on blood across the hall, and realized something that was supposed to be wasn't. She burst into gargling laughs. Chara paused with the knife in their hand. Undyne enunciated her words carefully to make sure they would hear. "Where's Sans?"

Chara's grin disappeared. Between barking laughed Undyne gleefully slurred, "See you soon, Human! Tell me how Sans finishes you! I wish I could remember all the times I kill you!"

Chara attacked her throat, silencing her. Their eyes were wide and they moved onto her face, driving their blade through her cheek, into her forehead, through her remaining eye. Undyne kept her face in a teeth baring grin until the end.

* * *

eyes wide.

* * *

eyes wide.

* * *

eyes wide.

* * *

The hard kernel in Sans's SOUL cracked. Only a small chip, but through it magic escaped and with the slight leeway from that slight marring began to reproduce. Sans would not be able to come into consciousness yet, but in theory Gaster would be able to come to him.

Gaster disconnected entirely from Sans's body, cutting off all senses, and jumped towards Sans's SOUL. He burst forward into the center, cutting a minuscule gash through the stone-like mass. He made it through to there, where the most potent magic arises. He snatched a stream of that magic and guided it through Sans's body, up to his skull.

Inside a skeleton's skull there is nothing. Instead of a brain they have a non-physical, highly complex network of magical synapses that function in a similar matter. Because of this, irregularities in magic can affect a skeleton's thought patterns, mood, and perception of the world in sometimes extreme ways. Gaster utilized this magic network; he manipulated thought streams to induce a dream-like state where he would hopefully –

Gaster felt himself in his own body. He flexed his skeletal hands and looked down at his thin body, his bones white and working perfectly. He wore the same clothing he wore the day he fell into his creation: a lab coat over his normal clothing. He knew that this feeling of being back into his physical body, being his own skeleton again, was an illusion, but he had not been himself in a long, long time.

His body touched nothing. At first the dream state wanted to draw from his own subconscious in order to create a setting, but he cut it off right after it let him have his own body. His surroundings were a colorless void that his eyes tried to identify as black and white intermittently. The effect disoriented him so he decided on black.

No Sans. He did not want to direct his essence to Sans's SOUL again, that could break the dream state he created. Sans should be here. Gaster clasped his hand together. Perhaps he could send only a small part of his essence to prod Sans again. The void flickered when he tried.

"woah, hold on. over here."

Gaster looked around momentarily before realizing that he should try turning around. Sans stood behind him, his grin broad. Gaster braced himself for the subpar pun. Sans said, "hey, gaster. we haven't hung out in a while. what's new?"

* * *

Yeah... ignore that "this will be a shorter chapter" thing.

As mentioned, I am doing NaNoWriMo. I plan to write and finish this fic during the month. I'm cheating a bit and letting editing count as word count, but getting the thing done will be my main priority during the month. If anyone would like to proofread this thing before I post chapters, I would extremely grateful.


	5. Chapter 5

"You are aware of who I am?" Gaster asked. Certainly it was possible; Gaster had been able to engage in limited communication with Frisk in some of their timelines. Perhaps Sans's determination in his own body allowed his memory to remain intact.

"nah, sorry," Sans said, "but i did sense everything you did while using my body. next time you should a- _void_ doing things like that. kinda rude."

Maybe if Gaster did not acknowledge the puns, Sans would stop. "What do you know? While scattered, I saw you working on various projects. My sense of hearing at that time was not reliable, but sight usually remained constant. I saw everything you ever did during every timeline since my fall."

"ya know, you really could have phrased that in a less creepy manner."

Gaster tried to interpret Sans's expression. He just seemed to be grinning, genuinely, but that's all he seemed to do since Gaster's fall. "I don't understand," Gaster said honestly.

"never mind then," Sans said. For the first that Gaster has seen, Sans looked around the void, turning his head and squinting his eyes as if trying to see something in the distance. "not much creativity with the design of whatever this place is."

"This a dream state I've induced in order to try to communicate with you. You have not reached full consciousness, so I tried to come to you. There's no need for anything more elaborate than this; we just need to -"

Sans cut Gaster off with a wave of his hand. "doesn't matter." Sans sighed. "actually, your name has always been in my head. just sitting there for no reason i knew of. i managed to piece together what happened mostly. you just confirmed most of my theories and filled in some holes that i had. though i have to ask, have you always been a jerk or has this happened since you 'fell,' as you say?"

Gaster frowned. "While it is interesting that you had some latent memories, there is no time to criticize how I handled things. Everything happened as I hoped it would, and that is what matters. We need to discuss serious issues and wake you up fully."

Sans shrugged. "whatever. i don't really care - you can calm down and calm that _black_ expression on your face. okay, your plan is so important, what is it? tell me what's happening while i try to wake up or whatever. start with the human."

"You know about their manipulation of time?"

"yeeeeep."

Gaster continued, "They did not start killing all monsters. I noticed that you said you tried to be a friend in order to get them to stop. Your efforts were effective in some timelines, but were insufficient in some. In the end, you failed."

"i know that," Sans commented drily. "i assume you're going to tell me what i should have done in the first place."

"First there are some things that you need to understand," Gaster said. "Frisk is the name of the human whose body you see, but there is another spirit in them. Chara, the king's and queen's human child, also is connected to them and has limited control of their motions."

Sans placed his hands behind his head and looked up as if studying clouds in the sky"go on. i'm listening."

His nonchalant attitude irritated Gaster. He frowned and continued, "The first time Frisk came to the Underground, they did not try to kill every monster. In fact, they managed to find a way to free everyone after resetting to the beginning a few times." He glanced at Sans, who had turned off the lights in his eyes. "However, they reset after that and eventually came back to murder everyone." He paused.

"figures," Sans said without turning on his eyes.

"During that timeline, they learned that Chara, the dead human, had been connected to their SOUL when they fell into the Ruins. Chara had absorbed all of the EXP and LV Frisk had earned. Because of this, Chara became corrupted. Once again, Frisk attempted a timeline where all the monsters were freed, but Chara came awake and forced them to kill and reset."

"so, my efforts were useless because a soulless human with endless bloodlust attached themself to the kid. just my luck."

Gaster shook his head. Why he didn't know, as Sans was still not looking. Well, it was probably related to his using sign as a main means of communication before all of this. "No," he said aloud. "Chara did not start out wanting to kill. They retained the EXP and LV even after Frisk reset and started a new timeline. Frisk killed every monster they could find of their free will, but Chara would not let it be a mistake that could be erased."

"huh."

Gaster stopped speaking. Eventually, Sans flashed on his right socket. "anything else?"

"You do not seem to be taking this seriously."

"oh." Sans turned off his eye light again. "i am."

Ah, Gaster had nearly forgotten how infuriating it could be to work with this skeleton directly. "Please pay attention."

"i just said i am."

"Your vision is turned off. You are not even looking at me."

"you just said that we only needed to talk. i can understand your speech. like you said, it's not necessary."

"I would think that you would care that Frisk is going to come out of the world and kill every monster, including your brother, again and again."

Finally, Sans turned on his vision, looked at Gaster, and put his hands at his sides. The lights in his eyes dimmed slightly before he said, "you just said that asgore's and toriel's dead kid has been corrupted and will ruin any good ending that frisk tries. i knew that the kid was resetting. now i know that it is all really worthless and they have no choice but to never stop. either you have some way to stop them which you will tell me momentarily, or you don't, in which case i don't need to bother. lose-lose situation. or win-win. don't know, really. eventually we're all losers, but for now, eh." He shrugged, his eye light returning to full brightness

Gaster took a deep breath with his own lungs. Sans watched, grinning. Gaster reflected on how Sans seemed even worse before the fall. Was Sans always this apathetic? Gaster made himself stop thinking of the past. Partially, Sans was right. He had to cut to the point. He was letting his feelings for Sans and to a smaller extent Alphys get in the way of his purpose. Sans chuckled. Gaster frowned at that.

"should i explain?"

"I don't understand again."

"alright. go on."

Gaster took a breath. Sans would probably reject this. "I believe, that if I am able to wake you up, we may be able to take Frisk and defeat them in a way that removes their determination and hence time-travel abilities. That way, they will be unable to reset again. The Underground will be saved."

"no."

Gaster opened his mouth, but Sans cut him off.

"i can see what you're about to say written on your face. despite that you don't seem to know how emotions work, you have realized that i would object. probably that means we're going to mind-meld or something for the plan because if not you wouldn't tell me at all. but no. find a new plan. i'm not leaving papyrus dead. try again in a new time- oh, won't work?"

"Frisk has already reset and worked through various timelines after I came here. Technically, we've had this conversation more than twice now. The events will only work if Undyne dies. She is the only monster with a fully formed SOUL besides you who can handle even a little determination, which I need to reach through and manipulate matters. Undyne is only killed after Papyrus."

"that's not good. not sure what we're going to do about that now."

" _Sans_ ," Gaster warned, raising his voice. He felt the first glimmer of anger since coming back from being scattered. "this is not about you. I was fond of Papyrus too, but this affects every monster. Stop being a child. You cannot doom every monster survivor and many humans to death just because someone you loved is dead. Many people are dead. You are not special in that regard."

"you need me to cooperate, and i said no. that's it. hang out and let's talk or something. can you make this place something other than a black piece of place. i could use grillby's now."

Gaster met Sans's eyes steadily. Sans looked back, hands in his pockets. "Grillby is dead. He had a young son. That son will be killed too. Doesn't that matter to you? Undyne is dead and Alphys would and is willing to continue on to save everyone. You cannot doom everyone because you will suffer some personal loss. I said before, I was fond of Papyrus too."

"yeah, yeah, you said it. now listen here, my friend: there's one person in the world that gives me anything at all to go on. there's one person who I care about at all. that's papyrus. either figure something out or drop it."

Gaster clenched his fists. He knew Sans would object, but this. He found himself stalking forward, approaching Sans. He stopped within a foot and glared down at him. He felt his eyes flare red. He said through gritted teeth. "Is that all you can say?" All Sans did was shrug apologetically.

"want me to help you brainstorm? hmm, maybe give frisk a good talking to and tell them not to do it again? tell the same thing to chara? how will that work? assuming can't you control them like you did undyne."

"I would be fighting for space with Chara," Gaster gritted, "and EXP and LV make it more difficult to control them. Undyne I managed because she had a deteriorating state and she had low LV, as she had only killed to help others. It's impossible."

"well, i guess you had a lot of time to think about things. if you can't come up with something, then i probably can't." He still looked up as Gaster loomed over him. Gaster suddenly realized that he had just resorted to physical intimidation and stepped away. He made himself breathe in deeply through his mouth and exhale through nose, something he had done before to relieve stress. He instinctively turned away so that Sans would not see him trying to gain control of himself, but Sans had the ability to read even the most stoic face like a book anyway. He might as well narrate his thoughts out loud. As if to taunt him, Sans's grin broadened, and he turned to the side and looked over into the nothingness.

Gaster turned to face him and checked his feeling to insure that his voice would be level before he spoke. "You say that you hardly remember anything about your past before I was erased. I believe I am able to restore all memories that had been erased by my fall. I would have tried with Undyne, but she had no significant ones."

Without moving, Sans said. "huh, do you think they'll make me change my mind?"

Gaster bowed his head. "Possibly, but even if not they will emotionally disorient you and perhaps I will be able to use that to convince you."

"wow, what's inspiring this honesty?"

"I guessed that you would be able to tell anyway through non-verbal cues."

"i'm not looking at you," Sans said, seeming amused.

Gaster glowered. "You are probably able to decipher it through my subtle shifts of tone and the implications of my word choices."

"heh." Sans faced Gaster again. "i'm better at facial expression, but yeah. sure, let's do it. i'm curious, honestly. all i have are these impressions."

Sans should not have impressions at all, but Gaster attributed that to his determination. "Are you ready? This will not affect you waking up and will not take long in real time, and I might as well spend time this way since you refuse to see reason and consider that this might not be about just you."

Sans put his hands in his pockets. "ready when you are. also, they're gonna be real traumatic but you don't feel the need to tell me since you assume i can tell all this by looking at your face."

"You are boasting," Gaster commented irritably.

Sans simply shrugged again.

Deciding it wasn't worth continuing, Gaster switched off his vision and spread out into Sans's skull again. He located the cluster of magic that focused on memories. The tricky part was connecting his own essence to it. By doing so, he should be able to remind the deeper parts of Sans's consciousness that had been affected when Gaster fell that Gaster existed in the first place. That should trigger a flood of memories that had been blocked off and hidden so well that Sans's mind never even considered their absence. But he had to connect himself carefully – he did not want to put in too much of his essence and give Sans his own memories (which while not disastrous would be potentially embarrassing) or overwhelm Sans's personality with his own, shoving Sans into complete unconsciousness again.

"hey, be careful in there."

"Quiet," Gaster muttered, and frowned because he lost what he needed and had to try again. Eventually, he managed to isolate just enough to do what he wanted. He managed it and heard Sans say, "welp. let's see what happens."

* * *

Sans's first memory was of making pizza with his mothers. He was young, about three or four, and for some reason he decided to upend a bowl of cheese over baby Papyrus's head.

He saw himself running around the house with Papyrus, playing his moms. Sticking his tiny fingers into the gaps of Momma Garamond's skeletal body, causing her to start and gasp and laugh. He remembered tricking Momma Kel into closing her eyes so he could surprise her with a brand-new haircut. Momma Kel's waist-length blond hair was saved by Papyrus, who'd wandered into the room and tackled Sans. As Papyrus straddled his brother he screamed at him not to cut the pretty.

One day he asked why he, Momma Garamond, and Papyrus had bones instead of skin like most of the people he saw. Even some people had fur, but Sans didn't even have hair on his head. Momma Garamond said that they were skeletons, a kind of monster, and that Momma Kel was a human. Sans asked if he could have been born with skin like Momma Kel. Momma Garamond considered this and said that it was possible. No one really knew what would happen when Momma Garamond got pregnant with him.

He went to school. Some kids thought he was cool; some didn't like him. He didn't care about the ones who didn't like him, and even his friends there could not compare to his brother Papyrus.

His moms took him to the doctor, where a furred monster with long ears used a machine to examine his SOUL and asked him to perform magic. His moms told him he must be very careful; he had only one HP. He didn't quite understand at the time.

He grew older, and more things became clear. His moms sometimes received phone calls from strangers. They told Momma Kel that she would go to hell because of what she had done and Momma Garamond that she was a demon. After one such call, Momma Kel gathered Sans and Papyrus in her arms and just held them for a while. He understood that his family was not like others. He had two moms, but that wasn't too weird. It was that Kel was human and Garamond was not.

He got older, and kids began to bully him. Most of his friend were other monsters. Kids picked on Papyrus too, but he didn't seem to even notice. Some of the really religious ones told him that he would go to hell. Papyrus told them that only bad people went there and confusedly tried to correct them when they insisted. Sans spent a lot of time with Papyrus, protecting him. He was older by two years, and though his moms told him that Papyrus was not his brother by magic, Papyrus was a part of their family and thus his brother. He would never let anyone hurt him.

Sans turned twelve.

* * *

"SANS!" Papyrus grabbed Sans's arm. Sans had been holding onto Papyrus's wrist, but he released his brother and took a step back. Papyrus noticed the look on Sans's face and took a step back, clutching his hands together. "SANS… WHAT H-H-HAPPENED?"

Sans took his brother's hand again and at a slower pace began pulling him down the alley into the deep parts of the city. "pull up your hood. just follow me."

 _"_ _SANS, I'M COLD," Papyrus said to his brother. The two of them walked home from school. Beside them, cars roared down the streets until they turned a corner into a less busy, suburban area. They had passed humans, mostly adults returning from work, but now the sidewalk was empty except for the two. Sans walked with his hands in pockets of his hoodie, the hood pulled up._

 _"_ _that's probably because it's november." Sans looked back at Papyrus. His little bro had his arms wrapped around himself, wearing only a t-shirt. Sans could just barely hear his brother's bones rattle above the diminishing cars and the gusting wind. "weren't you wearing a hoodie too when we left for school today?"_

 _"_ _I WAS, BUT I TOOK IT OFF AND PUT IT IN MY BACKPACK. I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE MY NEW SHIRT."_

 _Said shirt had 'Cool Dude' written on the front. Sans's grin broadened. He turned around, walking backwards to face his brother. "well, i guess it's too short of a way for you to bother to dig it out of your bag and put it on. race?"_

 _Papyrus instantly forgot the cold and pumped his hands in the air. "YES! BUT SANS – WAIT UNTIL I COUNT. YOU ALWAYS IGNORE THIS, BUT WE START ON THREE. READY? ONE, TW- SANS!"_

 _Sans whirled around, removing his hands from his pockets as he burst across the pavement, hearing his sneakers hit the concrete and Papyrus trying to follow and yelling, "SANS, THIS IS THE EIGHTEENTH TIME YOU'VE DONE THIS!"_

 _Though Papyrus had a couple inches on Sans, Sans had a couple years and could easily outstrip him. He didn't run too fast, though, not letting his brother get beyond several yards. He turned and ran for his house, jumping the steps that led to the porch and throwing open the door, able to hear his brother's cry of dismay._

 _Sans let his backpack fall to the floor. Kicking off his shoes, he passed the entryway and called, entering the room. "moms?" No answer. Thinking nothing of this, he entered the kitchen._

"your hoodie's in your bag, right?" Sans asked. Papyrus nodded and Sans instantly took the backpack off his bag and began digging through it. He found the yellow hoodie and pulled it out. Papyris took hold of his arms.

"What Happened, Sans?" Papyrus whispered. "Why Are We Running? Where Are Momma Kel and Momma Garamond, Are They Not Home?"

Gripping the hoodie, Sans felt his hands tremble. He clenched his teeth, trying not to cry.

 _Just inside the kitchen, laying partially against the counter in the middle of the room, next to a fallen chair, lay Momma Kel. A red circle grew on the front of her white blouse, and her face, her face was –_

 _Red splattered the wood of the island. Momma Kel's hand lay over a half-scattered pile of gray dust._

Papyrus began to cry. "SANS, DID YOU CALL THE POLICE BEFORE YOU RAN? WE NEED TO CALL THEM."

"i can't call them, pap. i... just put on your hoodie and pull up the hood so people can't see your skull."

"Is The Person Who Killed Them Chasing Us?" Papyrus asked in a near silent voice.

Sans felt a lump rise in a throat and all he could do was shake his head.

 _Sans stood there, looking at his mothers and what remained of them. Dimly his mind registered movement coming from the floor above him, but then as he stepped forward he heard a loud thump directly above his head. His heart pounded. The murderer._

 _He heard the front door open. "THIS IS THE EIGHTEENTH TIME YOU HAVE FORFEITED YOUR VICTORY TO ME!" Papyrus called._

 _"Papyrus, run!" Sans heard his voice yell though he could not feel his jaw move. "Get out, now!"_

 _He didn't know what Papyrus did. He looked over at the kitchen counter and saw that the drawer where his moms kept the kitchen knives had been thrown open. He couldn't let the killer get Papyrus. He stepped over his moms and scrambled for the drawer. He pulled out a huge knife and held it up. He looked at the sharp blade._

 _"Papyrus! Go!" He screamed again_

 _He heard footsteps rushing downstairs. He realized what he was doing and rushed for the door, wanting to get out, trying to drive the sight of his moms' remains on the ground. He rounded the door and thought to himself, it's not real. it's not. i didn't see that. He tripped over Momma Kel's arm and fell to the ground. The knife fell from his hand and flew across the floor._

 _"Which one of you fuckin' demon spawn is here?" a deep masculine voice asked in a growl._

 _Sans struggled to his hands and knees and saw him, a human wearing black clothes and a mask and holding a gun in his hand. The man bared his teeth upon seeing Sans on the ground and leveled the gun at him._

 _"_ _Go back to hell."_

 _Sans didn't know what he was doing. Crouched near Momma Kel, he screamed and swept out his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, but all he heard was the sound of the man cursing. He looked and saw the man being pressed against the wall above the sink by some force. The gun had fallen from the man's hand. It rested normally on the floor._

 _Then the man fell. He crashed down to the ground again with more expletives. Sans snapped. The man hit the floor but put his hand on the gun while pulling himself up. Sans turned but fell again when something blasted behind him. He landed face down and rolled. Panicking, he pushed himself backward until his back hit the wall._

 _Still snarling words at Sans, the man walked forward and kicked him in the side. Sans went flying, landing in a heap. He wanted to cry for help but his voice was useless. He couldn't comprehend what the man was saying; all he heard was the magic swirling in his ears._

 _He thrust out his hands again. Bones shot up from the ground, knocking the man against the table in the middle of the room. Sans rose to his feet, closing his eyes again as he let the magic run out of him. He slashed and hurled magic blindly, not daring to look to see when the man would shoot him like he did Momma Kel and Garamond._

 _Sans's knees buckled and he half-fell against the wall. Still not daring to switch on his vision, he slashed the air with a trembling, burning arm. He knew the magic was weak. He let himself fall, curling his skull between his knees, guarding the back of his neck with his hands. His body shuddered, with grief and terror._

 _His body eventually calmed, but he didn't dare move until a hesitant voice called out, "SANS?!"_

 _"_ _Papyrus!" Sans found rasping out of his throat, "Stay there!"_

 _More quietly: "SANS?"_

 _"_ _Wait there." Though he trembled slightly still, a kind of clarity washed over Sans. He sat up, and flashed on his vision._

 _At the far end of the room from him, the human man, now disarmed, lay motionless. Shards and strips of fractured bone littered the ground. The man bled from gashes across his face, limbs, torso. His neck lay crooked at a strange angle. His open eyes looked at nothing._

 _For some reason, Sans found the sight of the dead murderer more repulsive than the remains of his moms. He couldn't bring himself to look at what the man had done to Momma Kel's face with his gun, so he looked at where her hand lay across Momma Garamond's dust._

 _"_ _ARE YOU OKAY, SANS?" asked Papyrus, still sounding as if he were at the doorway. There was a tremble in his voice._

 _"_ _wait there." Sans's voice came out choked, and he was not sure it was loud enough for Papyrus to actually hear._

 _Then Sans realized what he had done. He could hear his SOUL speed even faster than before, feeling like it would burst and explode, spewing magic everywhere. He could hear the clattering of his bones as his body shook. He found himself running to Papyrus, who stood in front of the door._

 _"_ _I LEFT WHEN YOU SAID, BROTHER, BUT YOU DIDN'T COME BACK SO I-"_

 _Sans cut Papyrus off by placing a hand on the arm and reaching for the door. "we need to go."_

* * *

Sans and Papyrus had fled their home several hours ago. The sun set early this time of the year, and it had retreated behind buildings and more building before seven. They hid deep in the streets at first, huddling in a corner, neither of them talking. Sans had decided that if anyone approached them, he would attack them with magic. Sans had also made Papyrus put on his hoodie first thing, drawing up the hood to hide their skulls and keeping their skeletal hands in their pockets. But as it grew darker, Papyrus said that he was getting scared and Sans went in search of light. They tried to hide, and found a deserted area of the city park under a streetlight. Sans led Papyrus out of the way of the path and roads that led to their house. Have people discovered what had happened? The fight had been so loud, surely someone had heard, but if someone came in, they would see what Sans had done.

Sans looked down and scratched his fingertips against his palms in his pockets. Papyrus sat on the grass. He hadn't spoken in a long time. It was almost nighttime, and neither of them had eaten dinner. Eventually, Sans realized what he had to do. Surely no one would think that ten-year-old Papyrus could have killed that man. They could check with Sans's doctor and see that his magic was abnormally strong and unpredictable. Papyrus hadn't done anything, so they couldn't punish him for what had happened.

"papyrus," Sans said quietly. "do you remember where meryl lives?"

Papyrus perked up. "YOU MEAN MY FRIEND? OF COURSE I KNOW WHERE HE LIVES. CAN HE HELP US? CAN HIS PARENTS?"

Though friend was perhaps too strong of a word for the relationship between Papyrus and the young bull monster, in school monsters has a tendency to stick together and both he and Papyrus had been invited to Meryl's birthday party. Though none of the other kids clicked with Papyrus, for some reason Meryl's mom and parent loved him. Most of all, Sans knew that Meryl's parent was a lawyer. Sans remembered his moms calling them for various reasons when they thought he didn't hear or understand. Surely they could help Papyrus.

Sans exhaled slightly. "yeah, i think they might, but paps, i need you to go alone for a little bit."

"GO ALONE WHERE?" Papyrus asked.

Before answering the question, Sans took Papyrus's hand and began to lead him back to the streets. "meryl's."

"OH," Papyrus said, following him. "HOW LONG IS A LITTLE BIT?"

"i don't know," Sans answered, not looking back at his brother, "but when you get there, you can't tell them where i am."

"SANS… HOW WILL YOU BE OKAY WITHOUT ME THERE TO HELP YOU?"

"i'll be fine, promise. you just go first and tell them you don't know where i am."

"SANS," Papyrus said again. This time he stopped walking. Sans let go of him and turned to face him, "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU NEED A FRIEND IN ORDER TO BE OKAY, YOU NEED A BROTHER, AND I... I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE. I WANT YOU HERE WITH ME."

Sans felt liquid form at the corner of his eye sockets, but the hood and the dim light of dusk hid it from Papyrus. "i'll be okay and you'll be okay," Sans said, but his voice seemed to travel across a long distance before exiting his mouth. Sans seemed a long distance from his own body, as if his SOUL had floated away and was drifting into the air, like a balloon let go by a child.

"SANS." Papyrus's voice trembled. Sans pulled his brother close and hugged him. Papyrus began to cry again, resting his skull on Sans's shoulder. They both stood still in the abandoned park alone on the chilly fall day. Sans held him, wanting him to be okay. But Sans couldn't go with Papyrus. Papyrus had nothing to do with it, and everything that happened was all Sans's fault.

Sans prepared what he would say when Papyrus calmed down and looked up. Several minutes had passed before Papyrus raised his head. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE'RE FAMILY. YOU WERE ONLY TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF ME."

Sans started. He pressed his teeth together to keep from chattering. Did Papyrus guess? His little bro could be occasionally perceptive among his attitude of general obliviousness.

"come on," Sans said. "let's just get to meryl's house."

"SANS…"

Sans waited for Papyrus to finished speaking before he realized his brother looked over his shoulder. Sans spun around and saw a humanoid figure approach.

"papyrus, go!" Sans hissed, pushing his brother away slightly.

Papyrus looked and hesitated a minute before running away. Sans prepared his magic. A crisscrossing pattern of bones appeared in front of him.

But the person was not a human. He wore normal clothing, like he would expect a human to wear. But like Sans, Papyrus, and Momma Garamond, he looked like a skeleton, white lights suspended in his sockets. The only difference was that his mouth was in a slight frown, something most skeletons couldn't do, but Momma Garamond had once told him that sometimes when a skeleton had a parent who wasn't a skeleton too the bones could become more flexible, thus allowing things like being able to do anything other than grin.

The skeleton's eye lights followed, but he made no move to follow. He approached Sans instead. Sans look at him through his bone pattern, waiting for him to do anything.

"I'm not a police officer here to take you or hurt you or your brother," the skeleton said. "There's no reason for you to have your magic out." The skeleton also spoke with a strange clacking, beeping sound that formed into words strangely through Sans's ear holes.

The skeleton had a point. There were no monster police officers. But there weren't many skeletons in the world. Only five or so families, and Sans knew most of them if only through pictures and glances at skeleton family reunion. This monster was unfamiliar.

"what do you want?" Sans asked, trying to keep a tremble out of his voice "if you're not here to take me or my brother, why are you here?" There weren't any monster police officers, that would not go well with anyone, but there were social workers who could have been sent to find him.

The skeleton regarded Sans. "My name is Dr. W. D. Gaster. I am before your time. I am from before the Underground was freed before the barrier was broken. I have come for various reason, but mostly to offer to take you and your brother with me."

Sans took a moment to process what Gaster had said and then clenched his fists. More bones joined the waiting pattern. "get away from us."

Gaster took a small step forward. "I have no way to prove I am from the past at this present time, aside from the fact that you would not recognize me as a skeleton living in the aboveground now. But you have very few choices at the moment. I can promise you food and a place to stay. You may live Underground with me,"

"get the hell away," Sans all but shouted. Gaster didn't move but he didn't back away either. After a moment, he opened his mouth to say something further.

Sans shoved out with his hands and pushed his bone formation forward, giving new limbs joints and protrusions as it went.

Gaster held out a hand and his own bone pattern formed a large and tightly gridlocked cage mesh in front of him, blocking Sans's pattern. Their magic collided against each other and shattered.

Sans took a step backwards as Gaster said, "'I am not going to force you to go with me, nor am I going to fight you even if you do decide to attack me. But you should hear me out. I am aware of what just happened, but="

"leave us alone!" Sans shouted, though he did not form more magic. Gaster did not move, so he threatened, holding out his hands, "i just killed a person. get away."

"You did," Gaster said softly, "but it was self-defense. If you are thinking that you are a bad person or a criminal because of what you did, then you are wrong. You had every right to defend yourself. If you were a human, you would be lauded as a hero for potentially saving your brother. But you are not a human, you are a monster, and things will be different. I am not saying this is right, but it is the way things are."

Sans's hands shook. He stared wide-eyed at Gaster as the other monster spoke. Sans's bones were still tight and ready to attack or run, but he remained quiet as Gaster continued to say:

"Since you are a monster, the fact that you acted only to protect yourself and your brother will be glossed over to say that you killed a man. Again, I do not blame you for what you had to do, but you must understand that if you stay here you will be found before morning, likely before midnight. The police were called when a neighbor heard the commotion, and they arrived ten minutes after you and Papyrus left. They are currently searching for you, and I have little doubt that they have warned that you both are "dangerous and armed with magic."

"i can't stop having magic," Sans protested. "they can't blame me for that."

"They shouldn't," Gaster responded, "but they will. They will mark you as dangerous for what you are able to do and will try to paint you as a killer with a weapon that cannot be taken away. Not every human will be against you, but enough to make a difference. I cannot say what will happen exactly, but those people who will have power and who will use this against you will use this to take away the rights of monsters. They will try to get you locked up. I cannot say for certain if they will fail, though I think it is likely. But you will never lead a normal life. Papyrus will be caught in the flow of everything that will follow too."

"how are you here?" Sans asked. "if you're from the past and can time travel, why don't you know what happens, and if you aren't able to research, then how can you know what will happen anyway?"

Gaster breathed a deep sigh. "It is very complicated. If I learn events that take place in a future that has chronologically not happened yet, then what I learn may allow me to change events. It is unlikely for that to happen, but if I do it will be split into an alternate universe, which to say shortly would not be good. I could go onto many more consequences based on theories, but we do not have the time to discuss every implication. Most you will not be able to fully comprehend anyway. I-"

"then try!" Sans yelled. "you can't just call me stupid and expect me to do what you say. if you cannot explain it, then that must mean you're lying."

Gaster looked at Sans with an expression of confusion. "I did not say you were willfully ignorant. You will not be able to understand simply because you have not had enough time or experience to learn everything that you factor into comprehension of this subject. You simply have not had enough time to gain understanding. But this is not the point."

Emotions mixed inside of Sans. Part of him wanted to scream and part of him wanted to throw a dozen or so bones into this smug skeleton's face. But somehow in mixing all together they twisted and brought up the emotion that they had buried in the first place. Sans's shoulders heaved. He tried to pressed his skeletal hands together more and in doing so they grinded together like teeth. Tears snaked out of his sockets and rolled down his cheeks. Shame burned within him and probably kept him from running as he wiped them angrily away. Gaster looked at him with a new expression, this one different, something like concern. It was not malevolent in any case.

Gaster said slowly, as if carefully choosing his words,

"I will not say that I have decided to come for you simply for your own benefit. In truth, I have also come for another reason, I believe that you may be able to help me break the barrier in my own time; I believe you may have had something to do with the way you got here. At the same time, I can also say that things will not be easy if you choose to stay. I am not certain, but from what I can tell your main connection to this life is from your... is from those whom that extremist has taken anyway. Your decision will also not be permanent. I can take you back at any time. But I would implore you to consider. I believe it would mean the best to you."

Sans didn't respond at first. Though he tried to stop, he was unable to, the tears coming out in drops he didn't even try to wipe away because he was too busy clenching his hands into fists at his side, too busy pressing his jaw closed so that his teeth would not chatter as his mouth trembled. Gaster shifted on his feet. Eventually, the adult skeleton took a step forward, a small only, and hesitant, " I understand if this is difficult for you."

"get away," Sans hissed. Another pattern of bones formed and went towards Gaster without Sans's control. Gaster reacted to the formation too late.

It slammed into him, and he fell to the ground. He sat up immediately and darted to the side to try to dodge if Sans tried to attack him again, but Sans could not only control his magic but also his emotions. He backed away from Gaster as his vision became cloudy. But he bumped into something and nearly fell himself.

"SANS." Sans felt long, thin skeleton hands and arms around him. Papyrus took his brother and pulled Sans into his chest.

"papyrus," Sans said quietly between sobs.

Over Sans's shoulder, Papyrus clacked fiercely, "DON'T GO NEAR MY BROTHER. DON'T TOUCH HIM."

"I didn't touch him." Gaster said. "He sent magic at me and I blocked it, but like I said, I have no intentions to hurt you. This is your decision too, Papyrus. Will you go with me?"

Papyrus tightened his grip on Sans. "HOW WILL WE GET TO THE PAST?"

"Papyrus," Sans said quietly.

"I have a machine," Gaster replied. "I am not able to use it often without repercussions or use it to take me to whenever I wish, but it will be able to take us to pre-freedom Underground."

"Sans," Papyrus whispered. "What Do You What To Do?"

"paps, i thought i told you to get away." They spoke as if they were alone. Gaster turned to study the park bench and looked like he was trying to ignore them and let them have a conversation without him hearing. He could still probably hear every word they said, but it was an illusion that they chose to believe right now.

Sans thought for a moment. There was no reason why a skeleton would be lying to them, and it wasn't like time travel was impossible - everyone knew that weird things happened when the monster were sealed Underground. He thought of Papy. The more he did so, the more he released that having him go to Meryl's house was a stupid plan in the first place. They would have gotten Sans's location out of him eventually, and like Gaster said, Sans wouldn't have been able to hide. Really, every one of Gaster's words stank the harsh, pungent aroma of the cold hard truth. He didn't think Gaster was lying, and Momma Garamond had always said to them that skeletons were all one extended family, and that they all could and should look out for each other. She even said that if a skeleton tried to help or look out for them if something happened to her and Momma Kel, they should trust a skeleton

Sans took a shaky breath. "i think we should do what you want. what do you think we should do, papyrus?"

Gaster wandered a few feet away, determinedly not looking at the brothers.

"I THINK WE SHOULD GO WITH HIM. MOMMA... MOMMA GARMOND SAID. AND MOMMA KEL TOO, THEY WOULD W-W-WANT US TO BE SAFE."

Sans said nothing after that. The two held each other for a few minutes before telling Gaster what they had decided.

* * *

Frisk shook as they stood up, their clothes covered with sticky liquid. They backed away, staring at Undyne. They heard her words echoing through their head. Surely, they wouldn't have to beat Sans more than once.

They found them backing anyway from the puddle they had mutilated Undyne into. Then they ran backwards towards the entrance of the Judgment Hall.

Save Points only appeared for a certain period of time. If they ran, maybe the Save Point at the of the Judgment Hall would still be there. Within a few moments, they realized it was not so. They stood still, their damp hair hanging in their eyes.

They had never seen a Save Point form, but they assumed based on the convenience of most of them that they did so when Frisk felt most determined. But if there wasn't another Save Point, maybe they wouldn't face Sans again after all. They had confirmed that Sans turned to dust eventually.

The turned away and began walking out of the hall. Maybe they should search for more supplies too. Their leg, Undyne had cut it bad. It stung and soaked blood onto their pants. Frisk knew that they could die of blood loss here, but that seemed a lot more difficult to do in the Underground. The only explanation they could come up with was that monster food affected them somehow.

They decided to move on. The wound hurt, but it would lessen as time passed.. If they did fight Sans, it would begin flaring up again and slow them down, but honestly, if Sans appeared again they would probably lose anyway. They had faced Sans multiple times, but it was always so much of a challenge. Battle were always a little bit different each time they faced monsters, but with Sans the only constant was the massive first attack and the last one.

They walked to the Throne Room. They looked around the corridor as they walked, hoping to catch sight of the yellow glimmer of a flashing Save Point hovering in the air, but nothing showed up. A part of them wanted to go down to the room where the coffins of the other humans rested, and after hesitating they gave in.

Of course nothing was there. Just coffins, one empty and reading, 'Chara.' When Frisk finally realized that this coffin used to be meant for the demon piggybacking in their hed, they had laughed. Even now it still had a kind of certain humor to it.

They returned upstairs, climbing the cold gray stone staircase. They would head to the Throne Room, hit Asgore, try to kill Flowey before he got the king's SOUL, and that was it. No Sans. So far, so good.

As if summoned by the thought, Sans appeared in front of them, standing his hand sin his pockets and a grin on his face. "hey kid." Frisk didn't move. Sans chuckled. "what's wrong? Are you-"

Frisk plunged into themself and reset, not just to the last Save Point before they fought Sans, but to the beginning. Blackness that seemed to vibrate surrounded them. One button like the video games they used to play floated in the darkness: BEGIN GAME. They did not press it. They only collapsed, head falling against their knees, yelling at Chara mentally. Saying how it was all their fault. Everything, everything was.

* * *

Again, sorry for typos. Still NaNo. I plan to go through the story after the month and fix up mistakes, but that's not my priority for now.

I have several thousand words of the next chapter written. I would have posted this sooner, but as I said before I'm focusing on writing over editing this month. The next part looks like it will be really long though, so I might have to break it up. My hesitant plan is for three more part after this one and then the story will be over, but that all depends on if chapters are split or not.


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